Rosaceae : Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus
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Family Name
Rosaceae
Common Name
American wild raspberry
Native American Name
Dakota: Takanheca
Description
Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus is the red raspberry native to North America. The plants are sub-shrubs from a perennial, rhizomatous rootstock, with stems that are semiwoody, erect to arching, 0.5-3 m in length, sparingly to copiously covered in prickles. The stems produce leaves the first year, leafy shoots and flowers from the leaf axils the second year, and then die back to the ground. The alternate, petiolate, compound leaves have 3 or 5 ovate to oblong leaflets 4-10 cm long. There are 1-2 pairs of lateral, unlobed, sessile leaflets, and a central leaflet, often 2 or 3 lobed, attached via a short rachis segment. Each leaflet has a pointed tip and rounded to heart-shaped base. The margins are single or double toothed, the upper surface is dark green, sparsely hairy to smooth and the lower surface is densely hairy, appearing silvery. The inflorescence consists of 1 to a few small axillary, leafy racemes each with several flowers. The hypanthium is flat to cupped, the green calyx has 5 reflexed lobes, 4-7 mm long, the 5 white, ascending, petals are narrowly oblong to spatulate, 4-6 mm long. there are numerous stamens and pistils inserted into a conic receptacle. The fruit is a cluster of red 1-seeded, finely hairy drupelets, 12-18 mm long. American wild raspberries bloom from May into July in open woodlands, on hillsides and along streambanks in counties scattered throughout South Dakota.
Synonym: Rubus idaeus ssp. sachalinensis
Horticulture Notes
Seed collection: Collect ripe, red fruit in mid to late summer. Remove the flesh and allow seeds to dry.
Germination: Fall sow or scarify seeds with sandpaper or acid and then strify with 60-day cold moist treatment before spring planting.
Vegetative propagation: Divide shoots produced by rhizomes.
Light: Full sun to partial shade.
Soil: Well drained loamy soils.
Water: Moist to medium wet.
Additional Notes
American wild raspberry are a subspecies closely related to cultivated raspberries. They are easy to grow and will spread to fill any allotted space. The fruit are excellent to eat and are used like the domestic varieties.