The Wild Raspberry, Rubus idaeus
Description
Wild Raspberry, a member of the rose family, is super-common throughout the UK and can be found in open woodland, along woodland trails, and even on roadsides verges. The fruits are often smaller and less 'plump' than garden varieties, but they are still delicious, and very versatile in the kitchen, being used to make syrups, sauces, desserts, pies, fruit salads, smoothies, or just eaten as a they are. The leaves are also traditionally made into a nice tea that helps during pregnancy and childbirth. In our regular foraging patch, Arthur and I also find golden raspberries, a hybrid strain that produces white-yellow berries, that probably originated as a garden escape.
Raspberries regularly cross-pollinate with other species, sometimes producing unique coloured berries, like these Golden Raspberries.
Raspberry Checklist
Habitat
🌳 Deciduous Woodland.
🐑 Grassland, including paddocks, fields and meadows.
🚜 Hedgerows, including field edges.
Season
🌞🍂 Jun - Sep
Leaves
☘️ Green, wrinkly, and serrated compound leaves similar to bramble leaves.
Flowers
🌷 Small, white, and short-lived five-petalled flowers, blooming between June and August.
Stems
🌱 Biennial stems. In their first year, Raspberry canes grow straight and erect, producing leaves. In their second year they producebranches, with leaves and flowers. The canes have small red thorns.
Berries
🍓 Small, plump compound berries with tiny hairs. When ripe, they pull off the stalks very easily.
Edible Parts
☘️ Young Leaves
🍓 Berries
Aroma / Taste
👃 Indistinct Smell
👅 Raw wild raspberries taste sharp and sweet - just like shop bought varieties.
😋 We consider these to be a Choice Edible.
ID Notes
🟩 ID Difficulty - Beginner
👀 Wild Raspberry is relatively easy to identify, especially when in fruit. The hanging red berries are the key identifier.
👃 The unpleasant cat urine smell of the leaves, particularly when crushed, is a key identifier.
⛔️ The leaves should be avoided by those in the early stages of pregnancy.
Uses
☕️ Beverage - The leaves can be used to make teas and the berries to make cordial.
🧉 Condiment - Berries can be used to make infused vinegar or sauces.
🍨 Sweet - Berries can be used to make desserts, puddings and syrups.
🍓 Yummy - The berries are a tasty forage snack.
💊 Herbal Remedy - The leaves are often used medicinally, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy.