Rubus canadensisL.

smooth blackberry

WFO wfo-0001015825 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Rubus canadensis, photographed by naturalist charlie
fig. a naturalist charlie, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-19 / obs. 164569421
Rubus canadensis, photographed by Todd Boland
fig. b Todd Boland, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 156505398
Rubus canadensis, photographed by Daniel Estabrooks
fig. c Daniel Estabrooks, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147391068
Rubus canadensis, photographed by Étienne Lacroix-Carignan
fig. d Étienne Lacroix-Carignan, CC0 1.0 / obs. 136894622
Rubus canadensis, photographed by Alan Weakley
fig. e Alan Weakley, CC0 1.0 / obs. 87745249
Rubus canadensis, photographed by naturalist charlie
fig. f naturalist charlie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 82724132
Rubus canadensis, photographed by naturalist charlie
fig. g naturalist charlie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 54258847
Rubus canadensis, photographed by Laura J. Costello
fig. h Laura J. Costello, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 48112314

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 30 botanical countries

Regions where Rubus canadensis is native: Alabama, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Prince Edward I., Québec, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin AlabamaConnecticutGeorgiaIllinoisKentuckyMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNova ScotiaOhioOntarioPennsylvaniaPrince Edward I.QuébecSouth CarolinaTennesseeVermontVirginiaWest VirginiaWisconsin District of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Rubus canadensis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Connecticut CNT
District of Columbia WDC
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Kentucky KTY
Maine MAI
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Ontario ONT
Pennsylvania PEN
Prince Edward I. PEI
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 22 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Rubus acridens L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus argutus var. randii (L.H.Bailey) L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus besseyi L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus canadensis var. imus L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus canadensis var. micmacorum Lepage
  • Rubus canadensis var. millspaughii (Britton) Blanch.
  • Rubus canadensis var. randii (L.H.Bailey) L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus canadensis var. septemfoliolatus Blanch.
  • Rubus canadensis var. terrae-novae (Fernald) L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus illustris L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus kennedyanus Fernald
  • Rubus laetabilis L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus millspaughii Britton
  • Rubus montensis L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus montensis var. superior L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus pergratus Edees & A.Newton
  • Rubus pergratus var. terrae-novae Fernald
  • Rubus randii (L.H.Bailey) Rydb.
  • Rubus ulterior L.H.Bailey
  • Rubus villosus var. randii L.H.Bailey
  • Selnorition canadensis Raf.
  • Selnorition canadensis (L.) Raf. ex B.D.Jacks.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.