Family: Roses (Rosaceae)
Flowering time: May–July
Size: fertile shoots 10–25 cm tall, sterile shoots 1–2 m long
Habitat: brushy places, rocky outcrops, sunlit mountain forests
Rocky blackberry (Rubus saxatilis) is a herbaceous perennial with erect fruiting shoots, while its barren shoots are prostrate and resemble suckers (lateral shoots). The fruiting shoots grow to about 25 cm tall, on them 3 to 10 white, five-petaled flowers bloom. Snow-white, oval bracts are about 5 mm long and pointed. The stamens are longer than the pistils. The fruit of the rocky blackberry is beautiful. Up to 6 large drupes have grown into a gleaming, glassy 'robido' of vivid red color, which is technically called the birni fruit. Also the long-petioled, three-lobed leaves of the blackberry are shiny. The thorns on its slender stems are solitary and delicate.
Rocky blackberry grows in sunny places, preferably on bare rock or in well-lit rocky mountain forests on moderately rich soils with a medium amount of humus. At higher elevations it is a common and widespread species; however, in northeastern, southeastern and southwestern Slovenia we will search for it in vain.
The photograph of the rocky blackberry was contributed by Mr. Branko Dolinar.
