[3] The prickly branches can take root if they touch soil, thus enabling the plant to spread vegetatively and form larger clonal colonies.

[5] Current or recent subspecies and varieties include: A cultivar of this species named the 'Aughinbaugh' blackberry was a parent of the loganberry.

[10] 'Wild Treasure' has the fruit size and flavor of the wild species, but without prickles, and the berries are machine harvestable.

[11][12] Diverse wildlife eat the berries, including songbirds, deer, bear, and other large and small mammals.

Native Americans such as the Kumeyaay, Maidu, Pomo and Salish peoples used R. ursinus as a fresh and dried fruit source and as a traditional medicinal plant.