Raspberries of the world
Many of the cultivated berries are native to a small number of countries. However, the raspberry comes from a wide range of countries. The common one is Rubus idaeus, native to Europe and northern Asia. It grows in a range of temperate climates, meaning it is now grown in most countries and regions that have a period of winter chill.
The genus Rubus is vast and includes blackberries, dewberries, raspberries, salmonberries, wineberries, and the overarching group known as brambles. It has over ten sub-genera, with raspberries mostly in three subgenera: Idaeobatus, Anoplobatus, and Chamaebatus. There are species native to northern continents and Australasia. There is even a species from the Arctic. Some have pleasant fruit to eat, and some are either bland or have low numbers of fruit.
Several from eastern Australia can be found in local indigenous nurseries. A few have been commercially produced as retail ‘punnet’ fruits, and some for commercial food production. Most make attractive small shrubs for the urban garden. The range includes Rubus parvifolius, Rubus queenslandicus, Rubus probus, Rubus rosifolius, Rubus fraxinifolius, Rubus moorei, and Rubus gunnianus.
R. parvifolius is also known as Native Raspberry or Narrow-Leaved Raspberry. Its range is from central Queensland down the east coast to Adelaide and Tasmania. It is common in Eastern Australian nurseries and easy to grow in the urban garden. The fruit is small and scarce but quite sweet. The plant is excellent as a rockery or pot plant.
R. Probus is also knownasAtherton Raspberry and is easy to grow. It is a tropical plant native to northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, meaning that, unlike the common raspberry, it doesn’t require a winter chill to fruit. It is a large plant with large fruit produced in late summer and autumn. In some climatic zones, it may even fruit all year. There have been some attempts to commercialise this variety but no major success so far.
As mentioned above, numerous species are found all over the world. Most have tasty fruit but are not viable as a commercial crop or as a plant for the home veggie patch. One unusual variety is Rubus rolfei (syn: Rubus hayata-koidzumii) known as Creeping Raspberry, which is popular in the nursery industry. It is native to Taiwan and has the common name, Taiwanese Raspberry. It’s popular as a landscape plant, not for its fruit. It is easy to grow, has very attractive foliage, and is a good living weed suppressant. It does produce dainty white flowers and sweet but small fruit.
In the US, this plant is widely used as a landscaping plant that works well on slopes and in hot, dry shade. It grows to around 10cm high and spreads to over 2m2. It will suppress weeds but still allows spring/summer bulbs to poke through. It performs very well in rockeries, on terraced walls, and in large pots where the pretty foliage tumbles down to create a flowing lava-like effect. The foliage is grey-green with a touch of burgundy during late autumn and winter. There are two US cultivars that don’t seem to be present in Australia: Emerald Carpet and Gold Carpet. As their names imply, one is deep green, and the other has soft golden foliage.
For such a common and popular fruit, the raspberry has a lot of history and diverse interest. The fruiting varieties are a bit weedy but many forms make attractive garden plants.