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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » National Clonal Germplasm Repository » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #269367
Title: Raspberry: introduction and description

Author
item Hummer, Kim

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/13/2011
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: This chapter provides introductory information concerning red raspberries. It describes history, botany, and different types of raspberry fruits. Recorded history tells us that brambles and humans have been interacting over the course of several millennia. These plucky plants were described by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Europeans weren’t the only ones to recognize medicinal values in raspberries. An Asian raspberry preparation, called "fu-pen-tzu," using raspberry fruit was documented in traditional Chinese herbals. Many raspberry species are native to temperate climates around the world. The fruits can be colored from yellow through red to purple and black. Breeding programs have recently released large-fruited cultivars for growing in a range of climatic conditions and for tunnel production.

Technical Abstract: This chapter provides introductory information concerning Rubus idaeus L., raspberries. It describes history, botany, and different types of raspberry fruits. History describes the interaction between brambles and humans over the course of several millennia. These plucky plants were described by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Europeans weren’t the only ones to recognize medicinal values in raspberries. An Asian raspberry preparation, called "fu-pen-tzu," using raspberry fruits, was documented in traditional Chinese herbals. Many raspberry species are native to temperate climates around the world. Raspberries, which are plants having fruits that separate from the receptical upon ripening, are placed in the tribe Rubeae. Five Rubus subgenera: Idaeobatus, Cylactus, Anoplobatus, Chamaemorus, and Malachobatus have the raspberry-type fruit character. The fruits can be colored from yellow through red to purple and black. Breeding programs have recently released large-fruited cultivars for growing in a range of climatic conditions and for tunnel production.