Natural Happenings at Natural Bridge
This 4th of July come out to Natural Bridge to see Nature’s Fireworks! The Rosebay Rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), a large evergreen shrub, is currently in full-bloom at Natural Bridge! You don’t want to miss this brilliant display of rose-pink, pink margined or nearly white flowers! The rhododendron start to bloom up near the ridgetops first followed by those located lower in elevation. The result is a spectacular wave of blooming that typically peaks around the 4th of July! One visitor even nicknamed them “Nature’s Fireworks”! Don’t miss this annual event and please remember that all the plants and animals at Natural Bridge are protected by KY state law. Picking and removing flowers and plants is prohibited!
Scientific Name: Rubus phoenicolasius Maxim
Common Names: wineberry, Japanese wineberry, wine raspberry
Native Origin: Japan, Korea and China. Wineberry was introduced into the United States in 1890 as breeding stock for new Rubus cultivars. It is used today by berry breeders to add specific genes to berry varieties or species. Wineberry is an example of one man's flower being another man's weed. Given containment, wineberry has desirable and useful qualities, but due to its invasive nature, it is considered a significant pest of agricultural and natural ecosystems. Wineberry has been used as a virus indicator for raspberry yellow spot and wineberry latent virus and numerous plant viruses have been isolated from it.
Description: Wineberry, or wine raspberry, is a typical species in the genus Rubus, which contains blackberry and raspberry. The name Rubus phoenicolasius translates as "blackberry 
with purple hairs." The mature plant has long stems (canes) that are upright and arching and covered with distinctive glandular red hairs and small spines. The hairs give the canes a reddish color when seen from a distance. Under favorable conditions, canes may grow to a length of 9 feet. Leaves consist of three heart-shaped, serrated leaflets with purplish veins and are silvery white tomentose on the underside. Small greenish flowers with white petals and reddish hairs occur in Spring. The very edible raspberry like fruit is bright red and ripens during June and July.
Habitat: Like other members of Rubus, wineberry prefers moist conditions and adequate sunlight. Many species of birds and mammals use the brambles for nesting and shelter.
Distribution: Wineberry is found from New England and eastern Canada south to North Carolina and west to Michigan and Tennessee. It is considered an invasive plant of natural areas in Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Ecological Impacts: Wineberry is a vigorous grower and can form dense thickets covering large areas, displacing many native plants in the process. Wineberry reproduces by seeds, and through vegetative means including root buds and the sprouting of new plants from where canes touch the soil. Wineberry poses a threat to the native plants that grow in forest, field, stream and wetland edge habitats, open woods, and savannas and prairies.
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If you would like to help keep wineberry and other non-native plant species from taking over Natural Bridge please contact Noelle Grunwald at noelle.grunwald@ky.gov to see how you can help!
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If you would like to be kept up to date on what is happening throughout the year at Natural Bridge just send an e-mail with "Update Request" as the subject to Noelle Grunwald at noelle.grunwald@ky.gov and you'll be signed up to receive our monthly e-mail newsletter! You'll get information about our special events, such as: Arches Hiking Weekend, Herpetology Weekend, Wildflower Weekend, Summer programming and Special Events, Leave No Trace Beginner Backpacking Weekends, and Invasive Species Volunteer Days.