You can help fight an invasive species by eating it – KIRO 7 News Seattle

A common fruit doesn't seem as sweet as it tastes. The Himalayan blackberry and the evergreen blackberry are Class C noxious weeds, making them both an invasive species, according to the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board (NWCB).

Class C noxious weeds are “non-native species whose control can be planned based on local priorities,” according to King County.

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4 criteria make a plant an invasive species

For a plant to be classified as a noxious weed, King County says it must meet four criteria. The plant must be introduced to Washington, spread beyond the locality, cause ecological, environmental or social harm, and be difficult to control.

“This damage can be agricultural, such as reducing crop yields, ecological, such as displacing our native plants, or physical, such as being toxic to people or livestock,” King County's website states. “It can impact wildlife, human health, land value, recreation and natural resources.”

King County described the Himalayan blackberry as a thorny, thick shrub in the rose family that produces large, edible blackberries. According to the NWBC, the shrub can grow to over 15 feet tall and the plants grow into impenetrable thickets.

The leaves are divided into 3-5 leaflets that are rounded and have toothed edges. The shrub also produces flowers in flat clusters of five to 20 flowers, each with five petals, white to light pink, about 1 inch in diameter. The evergreen blackberry is similar to the Himalayan blackberry but has ragged-looking leaves that are deeply tattered or incised, according to King County.

The NWBC website states that Himalayan blackberries “grow in mixed and deciduous forests and in numerous disturbed sites such as roadsides, railroad tracks, deforested areas, field margins and riparian areas.”

“Native blackberries can be recognized by their smaller, straighter, thinner thorns and leaves with three leaflets of similar color on either side,” says the Washington Invasive Species Council website.

Getting rid of blackberry bushes

While eating the blackberries is one way to decompose the plant, King County recommends digging, mowing, plowing, using herbicides, and/or grazing by livestock, especially goats.

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The Washington Invasive Species Council recommends against buying or trading Himalayan or evergreen blackberries. Residents can contact their county weed coordinator with further questions.

Blackberries are available from February to September, according to the California Department of Education, with peak season being June to September.

Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories Here. Follow Julia on X Here and email her Here.

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