Rubus canescens

Woolly bramble                                                                                          Βατομουριά


Rosaceae - rose family                                                                                            Dicot.

 
 

Brambles, the plants in the genus Rubus, as most people recognise, are very common and occur on every continent. Worldwide, there are more than 700 species: two distinct species can be found on Skopelos, R. sancta, which has pink flowers and the less common R. canescens, which has pure white flowers.; both have blackberry fruits in autumn. Blackberries have been recognised since prehistoric times foe their nutritious and medicinal properties and are now regarded as superfruits. The plants however are not always welcome as the tough branches are exceedingly prickly and difficult to control in gardens and agricultural settings.

1.5-2cm, 100-200cm,
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Of the bramble again there are several kinds, showing very great variation”

Theophrastus.

The Bramble and the Archangel Michael


Soon after the creation of the world, the warrior angel Michael led the angels of the army of God in a war against satan. On defeating the evil one, he cast him down into hell. In folk tales it is said that the devil landed on a thorny blackberry bush and, in his anger, he spat on the blackberries, making them inedible in late autumn, after St Michael’s day.

This tale is in stark contrast to the story of Rubus sanctus, the holy bramble.

Rubus sancta
Holy bramble../../Pink/Pages/Rubus_sanctus.html
Samolus valerandi
brookweedSamolus_valerandi.html
Rubia peregrina.
Wild madderRubia_peregrina.html