Rubus villosus
Also called bramble, cloudberry,
dewberry, goutberry, high blackberry and thimbleberry. Blackberry is a
perennial, trailing plant which grows best in dry soil. It has slender
branches with sharp, recurved prickles. The leaves are doubly serrated with
fine hairs. White, five-petaled flowers bloom from June to September. The
familiar fruit takes the form of an aggregate of black drupelets.
The
leaves and roots of the blackberry plant are astringent and tonic, and are a
well known treatment for diarrhea. Prolonged use of the tea is good for
enteritis, chronic appendicitis and leucorrhea, and may also have an
expectorant effect. One ancient remedy for bleeding gums is to chew on the
leaves of the blackberry plant.