Rubus trivialis Michx.
Synonym: R. trivialis var. duplaris = Rubus riograndis
Common name: Southern dewberry
Location in Texas: C, E, & S TX; very common in Travis Co.
Form: low shrub, vine; perennial.
Rubus spp. / Blackberry – about the genus in general.
Food
Fruits – the Indians of San Luis Island next to Galveston, TX around 1530 spent the month of April eating large quantities of dewberry (presumably this species, as this is the most common species of “blackberry” in the area), which was a month of celebration and dancing (Augenbraum and Cabeza de Vaca 2013:76).
Notes – the fruits were eaten by members of the La Salle expedition to Texas in the 1680’s (Foster 1998:125). At least 15 species of Rubus were eaten by North American Indians, and the fruits from every species is likely edible.
Medicine
Roots – a handful of this root, plus a handful of the roots of both Pinus virginiana [not in TX] and Alnus serrulata, was made into an infusion which was both drunk and used as a wash to treat hemorrhoids by the Cherokee (Banks 1953:28).
Experimentation
I have eaten the fruits countless times. They are delicious and sweet when ripe.
It takes me about an hour to gather a kilogram (2.5 lbs) of fruits from a productive area.
They do not dry easily, so I preserve them by canning. I can them by adding sugar in a ratio of 1:5 to the fruits. I add juice from one lemon, mash the fruits, and simmer them to reduce the whole to a thick liquid. There’s no need to add water or pectin, but both can be used to thin out the fruits while keeping the texture, in which case more sugar is recommended.
I use the flowers or petals as an attractive garnish on salads.
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