Editing Blackberry (section)

== Ecology ==
[[File:Bee pollinating Blackberry.jpg|thumb|A tree bumblebee ''([[Bombus hypnorum]])'' pollinating blackberries]]

Blackberry leaves are food for certain [[caterpillar]]s; some grazing mammals, especially deer, are also very fond of the leaves. Caterpillars of the [[concealer moth]] ''[[Alabonia geoffrella]]'' have been found feeding inside dead blackberry shoots. When mature, the berries are eaten and their seeds dispersed by mammals, such as the red fox, American black bear, and the Eurasian badger, as well as by small birds.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fedriani|first1=José M.|last2=Delibes|first2=Miguel|title=Functional diversity in fruit-frugivore interactions: a field experiment with Mediterranean mammals|journal=Ecography|volume=32|issue=6|year=2009|pages=983–992|jstor=20696310|doi=10.1111/j.1600-0587.2009.05925.x|bibcode=2009Ecogr..32..983F |hdl=10261/50153|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Basket of wild blackberries.JPG|thumb|A wild blackberry harvest]]
Blackberries grow wild throughout most of Europe. They are an important element in the ecology of many countries, and harvesting the berries is a common pastime. However, their vigorous growth and tendency to grow unchecked if not managed correctly mean that the plants are also considered a weed, sending down [[Layering|roots from branches that touch the ground]], and sending up [[Sucker (botany)|suckers]] from the roots. In some parts of the world, such as in Australia, Chile, New Zealand, and the [[Pacific Northwest]] of North America, some blackberry species, particularly ''[[Rubus armeniacus]]'' (Himalayan blackberry) and ''[[Rubus laciniatus]]'' (evergreen blackberry), are [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalized]] and considered an [[invasive species]] and a [[noxious weed]].<ref name=iscbc/><ref name=king/><ref name=rhs/>

Blackberry fruits are red when unripe, leading to an old expression that "blackberries are red when they're green".<ref>{{cite book |last=Palmatier |first=Robert Allen |date=30 August 2000 |title=Food: A Dictionary of Literal and Nonliteral Terms |page=[https://archive.org/details/fooddictionaryof00palm/page/26 26] |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood]] |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. |url=https://archive.org/details/fooddictionaryof00palm |url-access=registration |access-date=17 March 2018 |isbn=9780313314360}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Marrone|first=Teresa|title=Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio wild berries & fruits|publisher=Teresa Marrone|year=2011|pages=272}}</ref>