The thornless blackberries in Mary Steffens' backyard in Echo Park are going on three years, and one of the plants is finally setting fruit -- big, purple-black globes of nearly seedless, sweet ...

'Doyle's Thornless Blackberry' produces 10 to 20 gallons of berries per plant per year, 10 times what a normal bush puts out. The fruit sets in bunches of 10 to 30 berries that ripen over a six to ...

To find the gene responsible for thorns, scientists investigated plants in the Solanum genus. These plants, known as nightshades, encompass more than 1,500 species and include common culinary ...