The Chehalem berry is a cross between the Himalayan blackberry

Rubus armeniacus

Rubus armeniacus, Armenian Blackberry or Himalayan Blackberry, is a species of Rubus in the blackberry group Rubus subgenus Rubus series Discolores Focke. It is native to Armenia in southwest Asia, and widely naturalised elsewhere...

 and the Santiam berry, which is itself a cross between the California blackberry

Rubus ursinus

Rubus ursinus is a species of blackberry or dewberry known by the common names California blackberry/dewberry, Douglas berry, and Pacific blackberry/dewberry. It is native to western North America. This is a wide, spreading shrub or vine-bearing bush with prickly branches that can tip layer to...

 and the loganberry

Loganberry

The loganberry is an hexaploid hybrid produced from crossing an octaploid blackberry and a diploid red raspberry. The plant and the fruit resemble the blackberry more than the raspberry, but the fruit colour is a dark red, rather than black...

.

It was first bred in 1936 by George F. Waldo of the USDA

United States Department of Agriculture

The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...

, who also developed the Olallie

Olallieberry

The olallieberry is a cross between the loganberry and the youngberry, each of which is itself a cross between blackberry and another berry .The original cross was made in 1935 by S. J...

 and Marion

Marionberry

The Marion cultivar or Marion blackberry, marketed as , is a hybrid caneberry developed by the USDA ARS breeding program in cooperation with Oregon State University. It is a cross between the 'Chehalem' and 'Olallie' berries...

 berries. The Chehalem berry is smaller than the loganberry with bright skin, a shiny black color and small seeds. The flavor is strong and especially good for frozen products. The seeds are small. It is well adapted to the Pacific Coast, and is vigorous and productive in moist, rich soil. The Chehalem has been grown to some extent commercially in Oregon.

Chehalem pedigree

External links

• http://www.tricountyfarm.org/oregon_berry.asp