Rubus parviflorus

Rubus parviflorus, commonly called thimbleberry,[2] is a species of Rubus native to northern temperate regions of North America. It bears edible red fruit similar in appearance to a raspberry, but shorter, almost hemispherical. Because the fruit does not hold together well, it has not been commercially developed for the retail berry market, but is cultivated for landscapes. The plant has large fuzzy leaves and no thorns.

Not to be confused with Rubus spectabilis, also called salmonberry, or Rubus occidentalis or Rubus rosifolius, also called thimbleberry.

Thimbleberry

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Rosids
Order:
Rosales
Family:
Rosaceae
Genus:
Rubus
Subgenus:
Anoplobatus
Species:
R. parviflorus
Binomial name
Rubus parviflorus
Nutt. 1818
Synonyms[1]

Distribution

Rubus parviflorus is native to western North America from Alaska south as far as California, New Mexico, Chihuahua, and San Luis Potosí. Its range extends east to the Rocky Mountains and discontinuously to the Great Lakes Region. It grows from sea level in the north, up to elevations of 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in the south.[3][4][5]

Ecology

Rubus parviflorus typically grows along roadsides, railroad tracks, and in forest clearings, commonly appearing as an early part of the ecological succession in clear cut and forest fire areas.

Thimbleberry is found in forest understories with typical flora associates including coastal woodfern (Dryopteris arguta), Trillium ovatum and Smilacina racemosa.[6]

Description
Rubus parviflorus foliage texture
Thimbleberry flower

Rubus parviflorus is a dense shrub up to 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) tall with canes no more than 1.5 centimeters (0.59 in) in diameter, often growing in large clumps which spread through the plant's underground rhizome. Unlike many other members of the genus, it has no prickles. The leaves are palmate, up to 20 centimeters (7.9 in) across (much larger than most other Rubus species), with five lobes; they are soft and fuzzy in texture.[7][8][9][10] The Concow tribe calls the plant wä-sā’ (Konkow language).[11]

Flowers

The flowers are 2 to 6 centimeters (0.79 to 2.36 in) in diameter, with five white petals and numerous pale yellow stamens. The flower of this species is among the largest of any Rubus species, making its Latin species name parviflorus ("small-flowered") a misnomer.[7][12]

Fruit
The fruit of the thimbleberry

The plant produces edible composite fruit approximately a centimeter (0.4 inches) in diameter, which ripen to a bright red in mid to late summer. Like raspberries, it is not a true berry, but instead an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core. The drupelets may be carefully removed intact, separately from the core, when picked, leaving a hollow fruit which bears a resemblance to a thimble, perhaps giving the plant its name.[7][13]

Uses

Cuisine

Thimbleberry fruits are flatter and softer (more fragile) than raspberries, but similarly have many small seeds. Because the fruit is so soft, it does not pack or ship well, so thimbleberries are rarely cultivated commercially.

However, wild thimbleberries can be eaten raw or dried (the water content of ripe thimbleberries is quite variable), and can be made into a jam[14] which is sold as a local delicacy in some parts of their range, notably in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan. Thimbleberry jam is commonly made by combining equal volumes of berries and sugar and boiling the mixture for two minutes before packing it into jars. Without sugar, the cooked berries, with a distinguishing sweet-sour taste, keep for a few days in the refrigerator.

Cultivated plant in the Helsinki University Botanical Garden in Finland

Cultivation for ornamental purposes

Rubus parviflorus is cultivated by specialty plant nurseries as an ornamental plant, used in traditional, native plant, and wildlife gardens, in natural landscaping design, and in habitat restoration projects. The fruit has fragrance.[15] Thimbleberry plants can be propagated most successfully by planting dormant rhizome segments, as well as from seeds or stem cuttings.

Size of ripe (red) thimbleberry

The flowers support pollinators, including of special value to Native bees, honeybees, and bumblebees.[12] The fruit is attractive to various birds and mammals, including bears.[12][16] It is the larval host and a nectar source for the yellow-banded sphinx moth.[12]

Cultivars

Cultivars of the plant are selected for ornamental qualities, such as for their fragrant flowers and/or attractive fall foliage color.[17]

A double-flowered form of the thimbleberry was discovered near Squamish, British Columbia by Iva Angerman (1903–2008) of West Vancouver.[18] This clone does not appear to be in commerce, but is grown in the Botanic Garden of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and in the Native Plant Garden of the Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria.

Traditional medicine

Many parts of the plant were used in folk medicine by Native Americans.[14][17][19] A tea made from its leaves or roots was thought to be a treatment for wounds, burns, acne, or digestive problems.[20] As of 2019, there is no evidence from modern clinical research or practice that Rubus parviflorus is effective for treating any disease.

Thimbleberry leaves can be used as "toilet paper" when in the wilderness.[20]

References
  1. The Plant List, Rubus parviflorus Nutt.
  2. "Rubus parviflorus". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  3. Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Rubus parviflorus". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  4. "Rubus parviflorus". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  5. SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter includes photos, description, distribution map
  6. C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Coastal Woodfern (Dryopteris arguta), GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Flora of North America, Rubus parviflorus Nuttall, 1818. Thimbleberry
  8. Klinkenberg, Brian (Editor) (2014). "Rubus parviflorus". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Retrieved 2016-07-03.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  9. Giblin, David (Editor) (2015). "Rubus parviflorus". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2016-07-03.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  10. "Rubus parviflorus". Jepson eFlora: Taxon page. Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley. 2015. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  11. Chesnut, Victor King (1902). Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California. Government Printing Office. p. 408. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  12. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas — Rubus parviflorus . accessed 2.12.2013
  13. Earl J.S. Rook, Rubus parviflorus Thimbleberry photo
  14. "Search for Rubus parviflorus". Ethnobotany, University of Michigan. 2016-03-03. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  15. Las Pilitas Nursery horticultural treatment: Rubus parviflorus — Thimbleberry . accessed 2.12.2013
  16. Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 420. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
  17. US Forest Service Fire Ecology
  18. Griffiths, Anthony J. F. and Ganders, Fred R. (1983). Wildflower Genetics-a Field Guide for British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest. Flight Press, Vancouver. ISBN 0-919843-00-X.
  19. Native American Ethnobotany (University of Michigan - Dearborn) — for Rubus parviflorus . accessed 2.12.2013
  20. Holly, Henry (18 August 2014). "Thimbleberry". The Northwest Forager™. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
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