running blackberry
- noun
- US
:
mora rastrera
- I enjoyed picking fresh fruit from the running blackberry plants that thrived along the hiking trail.
Examples
-
Collectively called puckerbrush in Vermont usage, the dominant plants are steeplebush, meadowsweet, running blackberry, meadow rose, and Joe Pye weed.
Academic text (1991) -
In summer, the running blackberry vines produce delicious berries that attract birds and other wildlife.
-
The garden was overrun with plants, including the wild running blackberry, which spread across the ground.
Synonyms
10
1.0
A bush with sharp stems that grows small sweet black fruits
1
1.3
A bush with thorny stems that makes sweet dark berries you can eat
A low bush with thorns that makes dark edible berries
A North American blackberry plant with small black edible berries
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines a familiar noun 'blackberry' with 'running' used in an extended, descriptive sense meaning 'spreading or trailing'. A B1 learner who knows basic senses of 'run/run-ning' (to move or extend) could plausibly infer a blackberry with long, trailing stems, but the specific botanical sense of 'running' is somewhat specialized and may not be immediately obvious without exposure.
Etymology
Running blackberry names a type of blackberry with long stems that seem to 'run' along the ground. Because those stems take root and make new plants, the bush 'spreads' quickly, so people used running to show it moves across the ground.