Range: Native to the eastern and central United States and southeast Canada.

Many birds and mammals, like humans, enjoy eating blackberries right off the bush when ripened and warmed by the summer sun. They can be made into jams, pies and many other desserts. The leaves and bark of the root of the blackberry contain tannin. Tannin has been used for centuries as a medicine.

The young leaves are used as a tonic to tone the stomach and intestines. Use 2 ounces of fresh leaves to a pint of water or one ounce to a pint of dried leaves. Let the tea simmer for ten to fifteen minutes.

Drink a cup of this tea every day for at least one week to receive the full benefits.

NATIVE AMERICAN FOLKLORE

Chippewa- Use blackberry root and the inner bark of the bur oak in a decoction for trouble with the lungs.

Iroquois - Make a drink called uhiagei from blackberries and water. It is sweetened with maple syrup. Uhiagei was a common drink that was also used in longhouse ceremony. It is preferable to make Uhiagei from fresh berries, but dried are also used. In the early fall, at the Big Green Corn Dance, the Iroquois people especially sought fresh blackberry uhiagei, sharing the pulp that settled to the bottom of the drink.

Seneca - Use blackberry root as an astringent and for diarrhea.

Menomini - Use an infusion made from the steeped roots of the blackberry as a wash for sore eyes. This is also used as dressing for wounds.

Meskwaki- use an extract from the root for stomach troubles.

Ojibwe - Boil the canes to obtain a tea that is used as a diuretic. With the roots, a tea is made the cures diarrhea and is good for pregnant women threatened with abortion from overwork.

Potawatomi - Used the root bark for treating sore eyes.

Mohawk - Young mothers drank an infusion of blackberry and black cherry roots. This was reduced in half by boiling. It was given to strengthen the blood.

Tete de Boule - Made a tea of bark scraping from the branches. This was used to cure bronchial infections.