#rubus ursinus

[pnwnativeplants]

302 grams of trailing blackberries!

[willoftrees]

made blackberry muffins from scratch with fresh picked native blackberries

collected the berries in batches over the last 3 days, here was batch 1 but i didn't take pics of the other 2 cuz it was balls hot

i used smittenkitchen's recipe for blueberry muffin loaf but substituted the blueberries for blackberries

[thegreenwolf]

Weekend Sketches

I got in a bit of drawing time this past weekend. On Saturday I decided to try out the new sketchbook I got that has paper specifically for markers; I also played with a little heavier line width than what I usually do, 1.0 as opposed to 0.3. 

On Saturday I drew a plant that I have a love-hate relationship with, trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus.) On the one hand, it’s a native species and I frequently see leaves that have been chewed on by insects, which means it’s feeding the local ecosystem. On the other, it grows VERY quickly, and I’ve had to clear a bunch back as I’ve been slowly trying to introduce a greater variety of native plants to my yard. 

I really like the marker paper, especially for blending colors. However, it’s all new fibers as opposed to 100% post-consumer recycled, so I’m going to see if I can find any recycled marker paper. 

And then yesterday I did this pencil sketch of P-22, the mountain lion (Felis concolor) who has lived in Griffith Park in Los Angeles the past decade. Over that time he became more than a bit of a celebrity, and his popularity helped to increase awareness for the need for wildlife crossings over highways, and other methods of connecting increasingly fragmented piece of habitat. The sketch is based on a well-known public domain camera trap image from 2014, after he was released having completed treatment for mange. 

I chose this pose because I wanted to challenge myself. It’s a difficult pose due to the foreshortening, and the fact that two of his legs and his tail aren’t visible, making his silhouette unusual. So it was a good chance for me to practice portraying depth. I’m probably just going to leave it as it is, rather than ink and color it; it was good practice.

CW DEATH

Sadly, P-22 was euthanized this past Friday due to multiple illnesses, and injuries from being struck by a car recently. He had attacked two dogs that were being walked by their owners, a sign of desperation as his hunting ability dropped due to those many health issues. Because of the extent of his injuries, his overall poor physical condition, and his advanced age (twelve is VERY good for a wild cougar) it was decided the kindest thing to do for him was euthanize him. He would have had a long, lingering death in the wild preceded by a lot of suffering if he had simply been released, and a sanctuary--even a good one--would have been horribly stressful for an old cat that had spent his entire life in the wild. 

What is remembered, lives. 

[pnwnativeplants]

Anyone know if Rubus ursinus will produce berries when grown in the shade? We have at least two female plants but they're taking over the yard so I wanted to build them a trellis and transplant just a few to train. The only spots that for for a trellis are in full shade though... I've never noticed any berries on trailing blackberry I've found in forests so maybe I need to do something else...

[pnwnativeplants]

You don't have to give up delicious blackberries in summer by removing those invasive fucks! Just plant the native Rubus ursinus :3

[pnwnativeplants]

First year getting fruit from our rubus ursinus!!

[pnwnativeplants]

Identifying Invasive vs Native Blackberries in the Coastal PNW

Pictured on the left is our native blackberry, Rubus ursinus or trailing blackberry.  Rubus ursinus has more slender leaves which grow in groups of 3. The invasive himalayan blackberry (Rubus armenaicus) has fatter leaves which grow in groups of 5. (All pictures on the right are himalayan blackberry) Rubus ursinus flowers have thin petals which do not touch each other, while the invasive blackberry has a flower that resembles a white cherry blossom or apple blossom. Rubus ursinus stems are round with a blueish hue to them, while the invasive blackberry usually has thicker stems which are hexagonal and have a reddish tone to them, especially in full sun. Rubus ursinus  trails politely on the ground and has small thorns, while the invasive blackberry forms tall thickets and has more aggressive thorns.

[pnwnativeplants]

Most people are familiar with himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor) but there’s a blackberry that’s native to the pacific northwest, trailing blackberry! (Rubus ursinus) True to it’s name it trails on the ground rather than forming huge invasive thickets. If you’re sad about the loss of blackberry by removing the invasive variety, consider this one instead. It does need both male and female plants in order to produce fruit, so keep that in mind.