Black Raspberry
Given Name: Rubus occidentalis
Nicknames: thimbleberry, scotch-cap, purple raspberry, black-berry
Family: Rosaceae (Rose)
Here I am! You were looking for me, right?
I'm the one you want to spend time hanging out with. You're not interested in my cousin Red Raspberry (Rubus ideus), are you? Both of us have leaves with white undersides but I'm the one with a powdery white “bloom” on my reddish/ purple stems. Red's berries are bigger and juicier but that plant's so common in gardens and grocery stores. I'm a little unusual and that's exciting, right? It makes you want my fruit.
And then once you try me, you'll fall in love with me and want spend your days basking with me in the part shade of forest edges. We'll spend our long June days together, watching the pollinators land on my small, white, five-petaled flowers. I'll provide shelter for small mammals and birds with clusters of my prickly stems while you relax on the moist, highly organic soil where I thrive. It will be glorious!
What? You have other things you have to do?
Can't you just stay a little bit longer... pretty please? You haven't even tried a cup of tea made from my leaves!
They're trifoliate, alternate leaves with toothed margins. Oh geeze... why did I say that? Nobody cares that my leaves usually come in clusters of three. Okay, think, Blackcap. What can I say to win back a person's attention? I know! My berries are eaten by over 150 species of birds and mammals including foxes, racoons, song birds and even black bears. Oh.. you think that's cool but you need to go? I guess I understa...
...wait!
If you stay I'll give you some berries. You'll love them... lots of people do. They have a rich sweet/sour flavour and are super high in anthocyanins (a type of antioxidants). You can enjoy them fresh or cooked in jams or pies. They tend to ripen over several weeks so it’s hard to harvest a large quantity of fully ripe berries at once. That means you'll need to to keep coming back. To me. To see me! Perfect... that will at least keep you close to me in July. Now what about the rest of the year?
Oh! You might want to visit in spring too: my young shoots can be eaten raw or cooked like rhubarb. You can harvest them while they're still tender, as they emerge through the soil, and then peel and boil them.
But it's winter now, you say, and you want to know what I have to offer at this time of year? Really, the only thing I have are the seeds left from rotted fruit. Birds and small mammals like that- any chance it appeals to you too? Didn't think so but it was worth a try.
Hmmmm... what can I tell you to get you stay? Did you know I provide nesting materials for native bees...
... uhhhhh... my berries' concentrate is being studied as a way to prevent oral cancer in smokers....
... and I make unicorns turn into purple squirrels!
I'm sorry- that last thing just isn't true. I don't know what came over me. I guess I panicked because you were about to leave and it popped out. I usually don't lie...
No, no no. Don't go. I said I was sorry!
I didn't want it to come to this but if I have to I'll use my prickly stems to hold onto you until you agree to stay with me. Maybe I'll even follow you: my 6 feet long arching stems can sprout roots where they touch the ground and produce a new plant.
Sure it would be a slow pursuit, but I could come after you. But please don't force me into this. Just stay. Pleeeeease! I need you! Well, maybe that's not technically true. I do quite well fending for myself in my native range of Eastern North America. In fact I wasn't domesticated until the 19th century, partly because wild stands of me were so abundant. Maybe part of the lag in my domestication process was also that I'm viewed as an anti-social plant.
According to the Connon Nurseries' website I, “ may not always play well with others”.
So even now, when I do get planted in gardens, I tend to be put in places away from other plants. And it's lonely, you know? Seeing other plants frolicking together in the garden: sweet cicely and Egyptian walking onions happily sharing space while providing you with food; New England aster and Canada goldenrod always together, playing with the pollinators and offering their medicine to people; and even the enthusiastically-spreading soapwort, finding unlikely companionship with thyme as they're locked in a boarder dispute. I want to grow with other plants too! And I can: you just have to choose those plants wisely. Look to the wild for clues on who I may grow well with. Hint: I often grow with red raspberry in the northern quarter of my range and I thrive in the dappled shade of black walnuts.
Also, did I mention that I'd like to grow close to you?
Ummm... why are you moving your curser? Why is it over that X?
Are you trying to close this window?
Well, at least say a proper goodbye to me! And don't be a stranger... come back anytime... please visit... maybe everyday???? Or at least call. Maybe write a note? Send a text? Keep in touch!
I'll be waiting to hear from you,
Clingy Black Raspberry
References:
Alonso, N. (2021, July 13). “Hill System for Planting Black Raspberries”. SFGATE. https://homeguides.sfgate.com/hill-system-planting-black-raspberries-62355.html
"Black Raspberries Show Sweet Potential for Oral cancer Prevention" (2018, April 16). Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center- James Blog. https://cancer.osu.edu/blog/black-raspberries-show-sweet-potential-for-oral-cancer-prevention
Dossett, M.P. and Finn, C.E. (2008). VARIATION AND INHERITANCE OF VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS IN BLACK RASPBERRY (RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS L.). Acta Hortic. 777, 147-152. DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.777.19 https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.777.19
Goldsberry, L. (n.d.). "Rubus occidentalis (Black Raspberry)”. Lake Forest College. https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/majors-and-minors/environmental-studies/rubus-occidentalis-(black-raspberry)-rosaceae
Kosiński, Piotr & Czarna, Aneta & Maliński, Tomasz. (2013). Rubus occidentalis (Rosaceae) - A new naturalized raspberry species in the Polish flora. Dendrobiology. 71. 159-165. 10.12657/denbio.071.016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272476284_Rubus_occidentalis_Rosaceae_-_A_new_naturalized_raspberry_species_in_the_Polish_flora
Morris, D. (2013, July 29). “Climbers: Rubus occidentalis” University of Michigan. https://climbers.lsa.umich.edu/?p=1073
"Plant Database: Rubus occidentalis" (n.d.). University of Texas. https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ruoc
"Plant Finder: Jewel Black Raspberry" (n.d.). Connon Nurseries. https://plants.connon.ca/11100004/Plant/4011/Jewel_Black_Raspberry
"Rubus occidentalis” (n.d.). North Carolina State Extension. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/rubus-occidentalis/
Comments