Meet Rubus L. Bramble

It's a feeling, an attitude, almost a state of mind. It's mid-May in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Seasons are rudely contesting. One's not willing to let go, another's not willing to wait. Weather feels tormented, uncertain and surprisingly turbulent. Frost turns into cold rain. Warm sun becomes a penetrating chill. Back and forth. Soon the hillsides take on what appears to be a layer of dusted snow. Meet the blossoms of Rubus L. Bramble the common blackberry, birthed in chaos: Monarch of Blackberry Winter.

Rubus allegheniensis - officially certified USDA noxious weed, labeled a scourge and pest, vilified and despised, nuisance and annoyance, pain in the neck with chiggers, the devil's curse, exasperating, should be exterminated, and so the expletives flow…

But Mister Pest Manager, Doctor Flowers would like to remind you that the middle initial "L." stands for 'Linneaus', the Godfather of biology. The determined blackberry was classified and named by Carolus Linneaus himself over three hundred years ago, and is sure to survive to another time when it's temerity is more appreciated.

Blue Ridge Parkway
Alleghany County, NC