**Description:** A thorny shrub with arching canes producing dark purple, nearly black, hollow berries.
**Size:** Canes grow 3 to 6 feet long.
**Identification:** Distinguished from blackberries because the core stays on the plant when picked. Stems have a whitish-waxy (glaucous) coating.
**Wildlife Value:** Primary summer food source for songbirds; provides dense "living barbed wire" cover for nesting.
**Habitat:** Forest edges, roadside thickets, and regenerating clearcuts.