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Discover Nature: Blackberries Ripen

Missouri Department of Conservation
Blackberries are ripening in Missouri’s woods right now. Look for them in rocky, open woods, along bluffs and fencerows, on glades and in thickets, old fields, and open valleys. ";

As we head into the middle of summer, keep an eye out in the woods for ripening blackberries.

 

The common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis) grows as a shrub with branches reaching five-feet in height and eight-feet in length and arching high or being supported by surrounding trees or shrubs.  

 

The canes, or branches, grow green to reddish in their first year, and develop broad-based, recurved thorns.  In the canes’ subsequent years of growth, they will turn brown and produce clusters of white flowers from April to June.  

 

Flowers begin to yield deep violet-to-black, glossy, sweet, juicy, globe-shaped berries from late June through August.  

 

Look for blackberry shrubs in rocky, open woods, along bluffs and fencerows, on glades and in thickets, old fields, and open valleys.  

 

The berries are edible right off the cane, but also make great preserves, and pie-fillings.  

 

Learn more about blackberries, and other Missouri wild edibles, with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s online Field Guide

 

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Kyle Felling’s work at KBIA spans more than three decades. In 2025, he became KBIA and KMUC's Station Manager. He began volunteering at the station while he was a Political Science student at the University of Missouri. After being hired as a full-time announcer, he served as the long-time local host of NPR’s All Things Considered on KBIA, and was Music Director for a number of years. Starting in 2010, Kyle became KBIA’s Program Director, overseeing on-air programming and operations while training and supervising the station’s on-air staff. During that period, KBIA regularly ranked among the top stations in the Columbia market, and among the most listened to stations in the country. He was instrumental in the launch of KBIA’s sister station, Classical 90.5 FM in 2015, and helped to build it into a strong community resource for classical music. Kyle has also worked as an instructor in the MU School of Journalism, training the next generation of journalists and strategic communicators. In his spare time, he enjoys playing competitive pinball, reading comic books and Joan Didion, watching the Kansas City Chiefs, and listening to Bruce Springsteen and the legendary E Street Band.
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