Red Raspberry
Wild red raspberry (Rubus idaeus sp.) is commonly found at mid-elevations in our region.
- Red raspberry is a stiff, erect flowering shrub, usually in the 1.0 to 2.0 m range.
- Thorns cover the stems and the yellowish-brown bark peels, all similar to cultivars.
- Although the plant is a perennial, the canes are biennial and grow tall in their first year, then branch and flower in the second year.
- Several pinnately compound leaves emerge. Leaves are toothed and veined.
- Shoots have white flowers in late spring, each with 5 petals, usually hanging.
- Photos taken by the author.
- After flowering, red “fruits” develop, clusters of flavorful druplets, surrounding a core.
- When we eat a raspberry we pull the fruit off the core.
- Raspberry leaves have a tonic effect, rich with antioxidants.
- Raspberry is most often found in glades and openings in the forest. In open areas, it sometimes expands into thickets.
- Indigenous people ate red raspberries and used the leaves and roots for medicinal purposes.
- Raspberries are widely cultivated and hybridized.
- When we are out hiking, we stop to feed on raspberries, wild strawberries, black huckleberries, blueberries, salmonberries, and saskatoons.