When picking blackberries I ve noticed that fruits on the same bunch are all at different stages of ripening, why

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Q.� Why doesn't the fruit ripen at the same time

A.� Although modern farming practices encourage crops to mature at the same time to make harvesting more efficient, Nature, however, has different aims and means.

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Blackberries, and other berries, are successful because they produce fruit that ripens at different times, to maximise their chance of reproduction. If the bramble produced a glut of ripened fruit much of it would be wasted if the birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings, weren't able to eat it all. Similarly the birds wouldn't visit the bush repeatedly if it produced one single harvest of fruit.

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Q.� What are the ripening stages of blackberries

A.� Blackberries, which grow in woodlands, hedgerows wastelands and heaths are made up of a number of drupelets. The berries start off green, turn to pink and ripen to a rich deep purple.

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Q.� How long have humans been blackberry picking

A.� There are over a thousand known species of blackberry, the fruit of the bramble bush, and each has its own different flavour and sweetness. The taxonomic study of blackberries, which are the largest of the wild berries, has the official name 'batology'.

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Blackberry picking is a popular and traditional pastime going back thousands of years. The earliest known blackberry eater is a Neolithic man excavated at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, who had the seeds in his stomach.

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The ancient significance of blackberries is also apparent from several myths that surround it. It was once believed that the bramble bush protected the dead from the devil and they were often planted on graves.

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Do you have a question about a fruit Click here to ask.

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by Lisa Cardy