Rubus strigosus

Rubus strigosus, also known as the American red raspberry or wild red raspberry, is a species of Rubus native to North America. It is a perennial plant which bears biennial stems ("canes") from the perennial root system.

Description

Rubus strigosus is a deciduous shrub growing to 2–3 m (7–10 ft) tall, with prickly shoots. The leaves are pinnate, with five leaflets on leaves strong-growing stems in their first year, and three leaflets on leaves on flowering branchlets. The flowers are distinct in having long, slender sepals that are much longer than the petals. The fruit is 1.2–2 cm diameter, red or rarely yellow, edible, and produced in summer or early autumn; in botanical terminology, it is not a berry at all, but an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core.

Distribution and habitat

Rubus strigosus is native to much of North America, from Alaska to Mexico, including the majority of Canada and the western and northeastern United States. It grows typically in dry, open or wooded areas, from sea level in the north of its range, up to 3,000 m (10,000 ft) altitude in the south of its range.

Cultivation and uses

The species has long been cultivated for its fruit, the raspberry. The fruit is smaller than most other cultivated raspberries, and with a strong flavor. Cultivated plants are typically hybrids between R. strigosus and Rubus idaeus and are marketed as "red raspberries" as a result of their color.

See also

• Rubus idaeus
• Raspberry