Southern Dewberry blossom

Southern dewberry is a native perennial that grows in east through central Texas. Ten species of Rubus are listed for Texas. This species is distinguishable by its red, glandular-tipped bristles along the stem along with recurved prickles. It is a low growing, thicket-forming shrub that can reproduce by seed and from roots as well as by daughter plants when the end of a stem reaches the soil.

The leaves are located alternately along the stems; each has five leaflets arranged in a starlike shape, with each leaflet having small teeth around the edges and hairless underneath.

The flowers are about ¾ to 1 inch in diameter, with five white petals and five green sepals. They bloom in late spring and at the beginning of the summer. The fruit is a berry that when ripe is black and about 1/3 to 1 inch in diameter.