Dewberry is a prostrate, trailing vine, 5 m or more long, armed with slender, curved prickles (flowering canes are sometimes erect to 50 cm tall). The leaves are alternate and deciduous, with 3 leaflets. The flowers are white or pinkish, large (to 4 cm in diameter), in clusters in the axils of the stem leaves. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. The fruits are black blackberries (the cores stay with the fruits when picked), edible and delicious. Dewberry is common on disturbed sites, in thickets and on dry open forest floors at low to middle elevations.