Rubus contains 375 species spread throughout this continent and further south, Europe, and parts of Asia and northwestern Africa. The Raspberries are distinguished from the Blackberries because their drupelets pull free of their receptacles called carpels, which remain attached to crunchy Blackberries. One of our favorite Rubus varieties is Black Raspberry, sometimes called Black Cap or Scotch Cap, a native all over the forests and fields of the Eastern United States. We find them in moist woodland understories, on the edges of gardens and farms, and in gaps and oldfield growth following rest from disturbance. We weave through thickets to gather basketfuls, eating them fresh or processing them into jams, fruit leather, or freezing them to enjoy Summer tastes on cold Winter nights.

The American Indian Health and Diet Project reports that Indigenous cultures, particularly in the Northwest, extensively gathered Black Raspberry for cakes, preserves, or drying them for pemmican (from a Cree word referring to concentration of fat and protein). Traditional herbalists also crushed the roots for a tea to treat stomach pains, or boiled them as a medicinal wash for wounds. As a Rubus, they’re stocked with vitamins, dietary fiber, and ellagic acid. Anthocyanins cause the dark purple color, which makes them useful for natural dyes, but also improving blood circulation, eyesight, and they’re now the subject of clinical trials on cancer treatment.

We propagate our Black Raspberry from division and tip-layering.