Marion

Marion, sold commercially as the marionberry, is the blackberry that made Oregon's reputation. USDA-ARS breeder George F. Waldo made the cross of 'Chehalem' x 'Olallie' in 1945, selected it as OSC 928 in 1948 at Corvallis, tested it heavily in Marion County, and released it in 1956 through USDA-ARS and the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station; the county gave it its name. Its pedigree is roughly 44 percent Rubus ursinus, the native Pacific Northwest trailing blackberry that supplies the flavour, 25 percent R. armeniacus (Himalaya), and 6 percent R. idaeus (red raspberry). Oregon accounts for more than 90 percent of world marionberry acreage and Marion makes up over half of all blackberries grown in the state. Marionberry pie was named Oregon's official state pie in July 2017, which tells you how much of the crop goes to processing rather than fresh shipping.