Himalayan Blackberry

Rubus armeniacus

Food

The berries appear in late summer and are utterly delicious! Eat them fresh off the bush, make jam, pies, fancy cocktails, add them to baked goods or countless other delicious creations!

Lumber and Furniture

Sam Alder has been developing a process to use blackberry canes to make lumber.

Medicinal

Blackberry leaves are rich in tannins.

Dye

Blackberry leaves are rich in tannins. They don't have much colour on their own but can be used to help other dyes better bind to the material. They can also be used in conjunction with an iron bath to add a blue/grey tone to the material.

Cordage

Blackberry canes contain wonderfully long and strong fibres. They help support the plant while they grow to form their large scaffolding structures.

Blackberry fibres are easiest to gather from new growth canes in the spring.

Sally Pointer and Paco Warabi have both created videos showing how to get fibres out of blackberry canes.