Running Swamp Blackberry.Rubus hispidus.
Found in swamp lands, grassy woods, and copse borders during June and July.
The trailing, rather slender, stalk runs on the ground in varying lengths; its prickles are few and weak. The color is green and brown.
The leaf is small, usually with 3 leaflets that are broad-oval or wedge-shaped; the margins are toothed, ribs marked, and the surface is smooth and shining, while the fibre is tough. The color is dark green.
The 5 small flower-petals are white; the stamens and pistils many, but inconspicuous; the calyx 5-parted, and pale green. The small clusters of two or three blossoms spring from the new shoots.
The fruit is scanty, and small. The pretty, dark, glossy, green leaves turn a rich dull bronzy-red in the fall, and remain so throughout snow-time,—they form a pleasing incident in the bouquet, gathered by the lover-of-the-woods-in-winter.