Common names:
Delicious rasberry, boulder raspberry
Family:
Scientific name:
Rubus deliciosus
Main flower color:
Range:
The southern Rocky Mountain states (WY, CO, NM), and a tiny area of the Texas panhandle
Height:
Between 2 and 5 feet, occasionally larger
Habitat:
Roadsides, hillsides, scrubland; plains to montane zones
Leaves:
Alternate, broadly reniform, up to 2 inches long, lobed and toothed edges
Season:
May to August
Rubus deliciosus can grow large, up to 5 feet tall and wide, with numerous criss-crossing branches bearing abundant green leaves and many broad, white flowers. Blooms are up to 3 inches in diameter: five obovate petals, slightly overlapping, which have a few faint veins towards the base and are centered on a cluster of short stamens topped by yellow-brown anthers. Stems are spineless, unlike many other rubus species. They are reddish in color, and older branches have peeling bark. Leaves are shiny and hairless, with 3 or 5 shallow lobes and irregular edge teeth. Despite its common name of delicious raspberry, the green, berry-like fruit of this plant is not tasty; dry, and composed mostly of seeds.
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