Raspberry

Raspberry, common name for certain plants of the rose family, and for their ripe, cap-shaped fruits, which separate from the floral stalk or receptacle when picked. Raspberries are native to the North Temperate Zone. The European red raspberry was one of the first European plants to be introduced into America. The American red raspberry, native to the eastern United States, produces fruit that is slightly inferior in quality to the European species, although it is better suited to the climate of the United States. The black raspberry of the northern United States is also hardy and productive. Many varieties of raspberry now common in cultivation in commercial and garden plantings are derived from the above-mentioned three species; their fruits, ranging from black through purple and red to yellow, are used fresh, for home and commercial preserving, and for flavors and syrups. The insect enemies of cultivated raspberries include the raspberry sawfly and two cane-boring beetles. The principal diseases of the plant are the virus-caused mosaic leaf yellows, anthracnose, and the raspberry orange rust.

Scientific classification: Raspberries belong to the genus Rubus of the family Rosaceae. The European red raspberry is classified as Rubus idaeus, the American red raspberry as Rubus idaeus variety strigosus, and the black raspberry as Rubus occidentalis.