Edible shrub - novice Season - present all year. Flowers: late spring to summer. Fruits: summer to autumn Common names Raspberry, common raspberry, common red raspberry, European raspberry, American red raspberry, grayleaf red raspberry
Scientific name meaning: Rubus is from the Latin for red: Rubra. Idaeus is also Latin and means belonging to Crete's Mount Ida, where raspberry grows in abundance
Habitat  A native shrub that is also a garden escape. It can be found in woodland, hedgerows, heathland, and downs |
Overall structure  Raspberry produces lots of erect stems, or canes, that can reach 1.60m in height. It also produces side shoots as it ages, which give it a more bushy appearance. It can be found in small or extensive patches. |
Leaves  The leaves can be trifoliate to pinnate, with a maximum of two leaflet pairs and a terminal leaflet. The leaflet are oval, with serrated edges and pinnate vein formations. The underside of the leaves are much paler than the topside, sometimes appearing almost white. |
Stem  The stems are cylindrical, giving a circular cross section, and have fragile prickles or none at all. |
Flowers  The white flowers have five petals, with the sepals being as long as the petals. They appear on a raceme. |
Fruit  The berries that follow are aggregate fruits - formed from many ovaries - and are made up of lots of spherical druplets. They are slightly hairy. Pinkish-red when ripe, the fruits easily come away from the central core. |
Possible lookalikes  Very similar in appearance to other members of the Rubus genus, like blackberries, but the fruits of all of these are edible or not poisonous. Blackberries have palmately compound leaves, substantial prickles and the stem cross section is pentagonal. Salmonberry (Rubus sepctabilis), pictured, looks more like a raspberry but its fruits are orange. It is also edible. |
Use as a food The berries can be used to make jams, jellies, cordials, wine, syrup, fruit leather and chutneys, or can be eaten raw.
The dried leaves are used to make a herbal infusion - see hazards Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been used as a decongestant, an anti-inflammatory, an aid to childbirth, to strengthen the uterus, to relax the uterus, to cause contractions, to ease painful menstruation, and to treat tonsillitis, wounds, sores, burns and ulcers
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner.
Hazards The leaves should not be used in early (first two trimesters) pregnancy
Other uses The berries are used in facemasks and to make a purple dye. Paper has also been made from the stem fibre Importance to other species Provides an important food source for pollinators, particularly bees, birds and small mammals
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!