If you’ve spent any time out in nature in the last week you may have noticed a well-protected reddish fruit starting to ripen now. This week on Discover Nature, we search for wild raspberries.
Wild raspberries, also known as black raspberries, grow on thorny, purplish-white canes that often arch to the ground, re-root, and send up new canes.
White spring flowers yield small fruits – as they ripen, turning from green to white to red to a purple-black – roughly the same color as a black berry, but smaller. The prized berries make excellent jams, jellies, pies, and syrups. They taste great fresh off the vine, too – but if you wait too long, birds will beat you to the buffet.
When hunting for wild raspberries, check spots in the woods where dappled shade allows some sunlight to reach the ground layer. To avoid getting stuck in a patch of these brambles, consider wearing long-sleeves, pants and closed-toe shoes.
Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
