Prickly Menace

Thorny canes of the blackberry plant Photographer - John Broomfield Source - Museum Victoria

The Blackberry (Rubus sp.) grows naturally in Europe, Asia and North Africa and was introduced for its edible fruit.

Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller - Victoria's first State Botanist enthusiastically spread Blackberry for its fruit and as a method of controlling streamside erosion.

Nowadays, birds and other animals spread the Blackberry through seeds in their droppings.

Seedlings grow vigorously in disturbed soil and where sunlight penetrates.