Description

General - erect, perennial shrub, 1-2 m tall, stems (canes) upright, biennial, prickly, often with gland-tipped hairs; bark shredding, yellow to cinnamon brown; similar to cultivated raspberry.

Leaves - alternate; compound; 3-5 leaflets per leaf on first-year canes, egg-shaped, sharply pointed, doubly saw-toothed; usually 3 leaflets per leaf on second year (flowering) canes, end leaflet largest.

Flowers - single or in small clusters; drooping, white, 8-12 mm across; appearing in June and July.

Fruit - red drupelets; in dense clusters (raspberries), about 1 cm across, that fall intact; smaller but tastier than domestic raspberries; ripening in July and August.

Habitat

Thickets, clearings and open woods; widespread across the western boreal regions; circumpolar.

Notes

Much larger than the Dwarf Raspberry. The fruit of the Wild Red Raspberry is delicious fresh or in various jams or jellies. As well, a mild tea can be brewed from the leaves.

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