Have you been out picking blackberries yet?

Blackberry season is now upon us in mid-August, and those observing hedgerows will see blossoms and a mix of green, red and black fruit at different stages of ripeness on the same arching briar. 

Many people will have childhood memories of the tradition of picking and eating blackberries in Ireland, and Catherine Keena, Teagasc countryside management specialist, remarked that they are one of the only fruits growing wild that people are certain they can eat.

While there are probably around 100 micro-species of blackberry in Ireland, the flavour remains fairly consistent - and people can have strong opinions of it.

"The biggest thing I find when you mention them - it is a total love-hate relationship," Keena said.

"It really evokes something special in people.

"Nearly every person knows and has eaten a blackberry from the bushes.

"The hate side of it is often for the briar, the bramble itself."

Whether people love or hate them, there are plenty of creatures who will happily eat their fill of the fruit each year.

Blackberries are part of Ireland's native Irish biodiversity, Keena said.

"They’re a native plant, they’ve been here for 10,000 years," she explained.

"They’re kind of a pioneer species."

They are hardy and need little by way of human intervention to ensure they thrive.

That is why you can see blackberries growing pretty much anywhere and everywhere in Ireland, urban and rural, on roadsides and in parks and on hedgerows throughout the country.

Bramble is "not a problem in hedges" as long as the hedge is not over-managed, Keena explained.

Over-cutting a hedge and weakening it can allow the bramble to "take over" - but according to Keena, "I wouldn't say it's the bramble's fault, it's more the hedge management".

"A healthy hedge can hold bramble and it'll keep it at bay."

Blackbirds, thrushes, starlings and robins are among the birds that will feast on the berries, and then disperse the seed.

For badgers, foxes and field mice, blackberries are also a popular food source.

Other important functions of the bramble include when a stem becomes hollow having died off, solitary bees nest there.

There is no need to have any concern that blackberries will become extinct in Ireland, and people are encouraged to enjoy the fruit each autumn.

While ensuring to take care due to the bramble's thorns and also avoiding bushes near busy roads because of vehicle fumes, Keena said there is a valuable childhood memory to be created from venturing out to pick blackberries.

Keena said that according to folklore - although the blackberries are unlikely to last until then - they shouldn’t be eaten after Halloween "when the púca spits on them".

The saying ‘ní fiú sméar san fhomhair é’ (it’s not worth an autumn blackberry) refers to later blackberries, according to Keena.