Raspberry

From Free net encyclopedia

For the sound made by humans to simulate flatulence, see Blowing a raspberry.

{{Taxobox | color = lightgreen | name = Raspberry | image = Raspberries (Rubus Idaeus).jpg | image_width = 250px | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Magnoliophyta | classis = Magnoliopsida | ordo = Rosales | familia = Rosaceae | subfamilia = Rosoideae | genus = Rubus | subgenus = Idaeobatus | species = R. idaeus | binomial = Rubus idaeus | binomial_authority = L. }}

The Raspberry or Red Raspberry, (Rubus idaeus) is a plant that produces a tart, sweet, red composite fruit in late summer or early autumn. In proper botanical language, it is not a berry at all, but instead an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core. In raspberry and other species of the subgenus Idaeobatus, the druplets separate from the core when picked, leaving a hollow fruit, whereas in blackberry the druplets stay attached to the core.

It typically grows in forest clearings or fields, particularly where fire or wood-cutting has produced open space for colonization by this opportunistic colonizer of disturbed soil. The raspberry flower can be a major nectar source for honeybees. As a cultivated plant in moist temperate regions, it is easy to grow and has a tendency to spread unless cut back.

Two types are commercially available: the wild-type summer bearing, that produces an abundance of fruit on second-year canes within a relatively short period in midsummer, and double- or "ever"- bearing plants, which also bear a few fruit on first-year canes in the autumn, as well as the summer crop on second-year canes. In the United States, Raspberries can be cultivated from USDA plant hardiness zones 9 to 3.

Leaves of the raspberry cane are used fresh or dried in herbal and medicinal teas. The leaves have an astringent flavour and in herbal medicine are reputed to be effective in regulating menses.

Xylitol, a sugar alcohol artificial sweetener, can be extracted from raspberries and can prevent or reverse tooth decay.

1 Growing
2 Images
3 Diseases and pests
4 External links

[edit]

Growing

Raspberries are grown for two reasons: for the fresh market, and for commercial processing. Traditionally raspberries were a late summer crop, but with new technology, varieties and innovations, raspberries can be enjoyed year-round. Raspberries need a lot of sun and ample amounts of water in order to develop to their fullest. Escaped raspberries frequently appear as garden weeds, spread by seeds found in the excrement of birds.

A gold raspberry, which is pale yellow, has been selected by horticulturalists.

The black raspberry, also called a blackcap, is not the same plant, being a cultivar (usually) of Rubus occidentalis, a North American species. Other Rubus species also called raspberries include: