Which Do You Prefer; Blackberries or Raspberries?

by Rex Trulove October 13, 2017, 6:11 pm 1.1k Views 9 Votes 21 Comments

Do you prefer blackberries or raspberries? Do you know the difference?

There can be considerable confusion when it comes to telling blackberries and black raspberries apart. The berries look similar, the leaves and vines look similar and they have many of the same growth habits. Some people even think that they are the same thing, while other people will vigorously say that they are totally different. Actually, both groups of people are right and they are both wrong. It all depends on what the people are referring to.

That is naturally confusing, but the clarification isn’t really too hard to understand.

Blackberries and raspberries botanically

Botanically speaking, blackberries comprise the genus of Rubus, in the rose family of plants. That is, any plant in the Rubus genus is a blackberry. There are two main kinds of Raspberries; red raspberries and black raspberries. The scientific name of red raspberries is Rubus idaeus and that for black raspberries is Rubus occidentalis. Thus, both red and black raspberries belong to the Rubus genus, which makes them both species of blackberries.

If a person who says that they are the same thing is referring to the genus, he or she is correct, for the most part. This is simply because from a botanical point of view, ‘blackberry’ isn’t a reference to a species, it is a reference to a genus, to which almost 250 species belong. Incidentally, a number of these species are dewberries and thimbleberries. This means that dewberries and thimbleberries are also blackberries.

Blackberry and raspberry fruits

However, if a person is talking about the actual fruits, there is a noticeable difference between blackberries and raspberries, even though there are quite a few species that are commonly thought of as being blackberries.

What most people call blackberries are fruits that are larger and plumper than raspberries, and they have a higher sugar content. Raspberries aren’t as sweet, but they have more anti-oxidants than blackberries do. A blackberry fruit has a core that is solidly attached to the individual fruits. In raspberries, the core, called the rasp, comes partly free when the ripe berry is pulled off. This leaves the base of a raspberry fruit hollow. This is the reason for the common name of raspberry. This can be seen in the image above. The lack of a rasp is pointed out by arrows.

Blackberry vines or brambles are also much larger than those of raspberries, though raspberries also produce vines or brambles. Raspberry vines seldom grow more than five feet in length. Many kinds of blackberries produce stout vines that can be well over 12 feet long. There are a number of reports of blackberry vines that have exceeded 30 feet in length.

Additionally, raspberry vines and leaves usually don’t have as many thorns and the thorns tend to be smaller and farther apart than those of a blackberry.

For the above reasons, raspberries both are and are not the same as blackberries, all depending on what is meant. It should also be pointed out that while a raspberry is a blackberry (botanically), a blackberry isn’t necessarily a raspberry.

Still, both berries are quite healthy and both blackberry plants and raspberry plants have many medicinal uses. The confusion is mostly having to do with common names.

Come to think of it, I may not have clarified the issue at all. Still, blackberry fruits and raspberry fruits don’t look the same and are only similar in taste, without honestly tasting the same.

The United States Department of Agriculture has an excellent webpage that lists the various species of blackberries, along with their common names, and where they grow in the US.

So which do you prefer; blackberries or raspberries?

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