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Spot the Difference! Bramble, Bracken or Blackberry

tonibun

Wise Old Thumper
Could someone please tell me how to know which I have growing in the garden. It has thorns all down the branches and sharp spikes all down the stems and the leaves are prickly also. Rory thinks it is good to eat but I need to know for sure.
 
Blackberry leaf
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Raspberry leaf

294c52657c0566dcf426ea2168ff8726.jpg


Bracken leaf

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Blackberry and bramble are the same thing. They have fruit like black raspberries, and spikey stems and leaf veins - although you can get domesticated thornless ones. They are climbing / creeping plants so they ramble over nearby supports rather than growing upright without support.

Raspberries have very upright stems / canes which grow separately from the ground and have much smaller bristles on than the bramble's vicious thorns. The leaves are softer and thorn-free. Bramble leaves are not quite so pointed (as shown in the pics).

Blackcurrants are totally different with smooth, round fruit on a traditional bush-shaped plant.

I am always confusing the names as I have both on the allotment, so I tend to stick to 'bramble'.
 
Thanks Shimmer. So I have Brambles growing through the gap at the top of my shed (pent). Lucky buns!
 
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