intensely aromatic Arctic bramble fruits.
Caneberries are composite fruits: a single
flower has from 50 to 150 ovaries, and each
ovary makes a separate small fruitlet, like a
miniature plum with a stony seed. The
fruitlets are nourished through contact with
the flower base and held together by the
entanglement of small hairs borne on their
surface (the original inspiration for Velcro).
When they ripen, blackberries separate from
the cane at the bottom of the flower base, so
the base comes with the fruit; raspberries
instead separate from the base itself, and so
have an inner cavity. Caneberries are
climacteric fruit, and have one of the highest
respiration rates of any fruit; thanks to this
and their thin skin, they’re extremely fragile
and perishable.
Some Caneberry Relationships
All caneberries are members of the prolific
genus Rubus, a member of the rose family.