Rubus parviflorus

{{Short description|Berry and plant}} {{Distinguish|text=Rubus rosifolius, also commonly known as thimbleberry, or Rubus parvifolius, a Rubus species native to Asia and Australia}} {{Speciesbox | name = Thimbleberry | image = Rubus parviflorus 9481.JPG | status = G5 | status_system = TNC | genus = Rubus | parent = Rubus subg. Anoplobatus | species = parviflorus | authority = Nutt. 1818 | synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/rjp-691 The Plant List, ''Rubus parviflorus'' Nutt. ]</ref> | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title=Synonymy |''Bossekia nutkana'' Greene |''Bossekia parviflora'' (Nutt.) Greene |''Rubacer parviflorum'' (Nutt.) Rydb. |''Rubus natkanus'' G.Don |''Rubus nutkanus'' Moc. ex Ser. |''Rubus nutkanus'' var. ''nuttallii'' Torr. & A.Gray |''Rubus nutkanus'' var. ''parviflorus'' (Nutt.) Focke |''Rubus parviflorus'' var. ''bifarius'' Fernald |''Rubus parviflorus'' var. ''grandiflorus'' Farw. |''Rubus parviflorus'' var. ''heteradenius'' Fernald |''Rubus parviflorus'' var. ''hypomalacus'' Fernald |''Rubus parviflorus'' subsp. ''velutinus'' (Hook. & Arn.) R.L.Taylor & MacBryde |''Rubus velutinus'' Hook. & Arn. |''Rubus ribifolius'' C.K.Schneid. |}} }}

'''''Rubus parviflorus''''', the fruit of which is commonly called the '''thimbleberry'''<ref name="GRIN">{{GRIN | access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref> or '''redcap''', is a species of ''Rubus'' with large hairy leaves and no thorns.

The species is native to northern temperate regions of North America. It produces red aggregate fruit similar in appearance to a raspberry; although edible, it is too soft for major commerce. It is cultivated as an ornamental.

== Description ==

''Rubus parviflorus'' is a dense shrub up to {{convert|2.5|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=off|frac=2}} tall with canes no more than {{convert|1.5|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=off|frac=2}} 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 {{convert|20|cm|in|sp=us|abbr=on|frac=2}} across (much larger than most other ''Rubus'' species), with five lobes; they are soft and fuzzy in texture.<ref name="tammy">[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250100441 Flora of North America, ''Rubus parviflorus'' Nuttall, 1818. Thimbleberry ]</ref><ref name="Klinkenberg2014">{{cite web |date=2014 |editor-last=Klinkenberg |editor-first=Brian |title=''Rubus parviflorus'' |url=http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Rubus%20parviflorus |access-date=2016-07-03 |website=E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. |publisher=Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver |archive-date=2017-11-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107060545/http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Rubus%20parviflorus |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="WTU Herbarium2015">{{cite web |date=2015 |editor-last=Giblin |editor-first=David |title=''Rubus parviflorus'' |url=http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Rubus&Species=parviflorus |access-date=2016-07-03 |website=WTU Herbarium Image Collection |publisher=Burke Museum, University of Washington}}</ref><ref name="Jepson">{{cite web |date=2015 |title=''Rubus parviflorus'' |url=http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=Rubus%20parviflorus |access-date=2016-07-03 |website=Jepson eFlora: Taxon page |publisher=Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley}}</ref>

The flowers are {{convert|2|to|6|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} in diameter, with five white petals and numerous pale yellow stamens. The flower of this species is among the largest of any ''Rubus'' species.<ref name="lbbj">[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=RUPA Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas — ''Rubus parviflorus''] . accessed 2.12.2013</ref><ref name="tammy" />

The plant produces edible composite fruit approximately {{Convert|1|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} 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.<ref name="tammy" /><ref>[http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/shrubs/rubuspar.html Earl J.S. Rook, ''Rubus parviflorus'' Thimbleberry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829215539/http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/shrubs/rubuspar.html |date=2010-08-29 }} photo</ref>

{{gallery|mode=packed |Thimbleberry Textures (3629325115).jpg|Foliage |Thimbleberry flower (Rubus parviflorus).jpg|Flower |Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) -- fruits.JPG|Berries |Immature thimbleberries in Port Edward.webp|Immature |Thimbleberry gallmaker.jpg|Gall produced by ''Diastrophus kincaidii'' }}

== Etymology == The specific epithet ''parviflorus'' ("small-flowered") is a misnomer, since the species' flower is the largest of the genus.<ref name="lbbj" /><ref name="tammy" /> The Concow tribe calls the plant '''wä-sā’''' (Konkow language).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chesnut |first1=Victor King | author-link=Victor King Chesnut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLkUAAAAYAAJ |title=Plants used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1902 |page=408 |access-date=24 August 2012}}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat == ''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 {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} in the south.<ref name="Sullivan2015">{{cite web | url= http://www.wildflowersearch.com/search?&PlantName=Rubus+parviflorus | last= Sullivan | first= Steven. K. | date= 2015 | title= ''Rubus parviflorus'' | website= Wildflower Search | access-date= 2016-07-03 }}</ref><ref name="PLANTS">{{cite web | url= https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=RUPA | date= 2015 | title= ''Rubus parviflorus'' | website= PLANTS Database | publisher= United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service | access-date= 2016-07-03}}</ref><ref>[http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/taxa/index.php?taxon=3973&taxauthid=1 SEINet, Southwestern Biodiversity, Arizona chapter] includes photos, description, distribution map</ref>

''R. 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''.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008. [http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=88976 ''Coastal Woodfern (Dryopteris arguta)'', GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711102430/http://www.globaltwitcher.com/artspec_information.asp?thingid=88976|date=2011-07-11}}</ref>

==Ecology== The fruit is consumed by birds and bears, while black-tailed deer browse the young leaves and stems.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fagan|first=Damian|title=Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert|publisher=FalconGuides|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4930-3633-2|location=Guilford, CT|pages=89|oclc=1073035766}}</ref> Larvae of the wasp species ''Diastrophus kincaidii'' (thimbleberry gallmaker)<ref>{{cite web |title=Thimbleberry Gallmaker (Diastrophus kincaidii) |url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/205631-Diastrophus-kincaidii |website=iNaturalist |access-date=19 July 2022 |language=en}}</ref> develop in large, swollen galls on ''R. parviflorus'' stems.<ref>{{cite web |title=Diastrophus kincaidii |url=https://www.gallformers.org/gall/1027 |website=www.gallformers.org |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref> An aphid of genus ''Masonaphis'' and a midge of genus ''Dasineura'' also induce thimbleberry galls, on the leaves and petioles respectively.<ref name="Russo 2021">{{Cite book |last=Russo |first=Ronald A. |author-link=Ron A. Russo |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9780691213408/html |title=Plant Galls of the Western United States |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-691-21340-8 |pages=322–323 |language=en-us |doi=10.1515/9780691213408 |lccn=2020949502 |oclc=1239984577 |s2cid=238148746}}</ref>

==Cultivation== [[File:Rubus parviflorus Valkovatukka Nutkahallon C DSC03153.JPG|thumb|Cultivated plant in the Helsinki University Botanical Garden in Finland]]

''R. 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.<ref>[http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rubus-parviflorus Las Pilitas Nursery horticultural treatment: ''Rubus parviflorus'' — Thimbleberry] . accessed 2.12.2013</ref> Thimbleberry plants can be propagated most successfully by planting dormant rhizome segments, as well as from seeds or stem cuttings.

The flowers support pollinators, including of special value to native bees, honeybees, and bumblebees.<ref name="lbbj" /> The fruit is attractive to various birds and mammals, including bears.<ref name="lbbj" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Whitney |first=Stephen |url=https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/420 |title=Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides) |date=1985 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-73127-1 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/westernforests00whit/page/420 420]}}</ref> It is the larval host and a nectar source for the yellow-banded sphinx moth.<ref name="lbbj" />

===Cultivars=== Cultivars of the plant are selected for ornamental qualities, such as for their fragrant flowers and/or attractive fall foliage color.<ref name="fs" />

A double-flowered form of the thimbleberry was discovered near Squamish, British Columbia, by Iva Angerman (1903–2008) of West Vancouver.<ref>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}}.</ref> 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.

[[File:Ripe thimbleberry fruit.jpg|thumb|upright|Berries foraged in New York State]]

==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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wild berries |url=https://magazine.wsu.edu/2021/04/27/wild-berries/ |access-date=2023-07-24 |website=Washington State Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

Wild thimbleberries can be eaten raw or dried (the water content of ripe thimbleberries is quite variable), and can be made into a jam<ref name="ethno">{{Cite web|date=2016-03-03|title=Search for Rubus parviflorus|url=http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Rubus+parviflorus|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185406/http://herb.umd.umich.edu/herb/search.pl?searchstring=Rubus+parviflorus|archive-date=March 3, 2016|access-date=2020-07-05|website=Ethnobotany, University of Michigan}}</ref> which is sold as a local delicacy in some parts of their range, notably in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-25 |title=Thimbleberries Keweenaw Michigan |url=https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/blog/post/a-taste-of-the-keweenaw-thimbleberries/ |access-date=2024-07-28 |website=www.visitkeweenaw.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

===Traditional medicine=== Many parts of the plant were used in folk medicine by Native Americans.<ref name=ethno/><ref name=fs>[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/rubpar/all.html US Forest Service Fire Ecology]</ref><ref>[http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=rubus+parviflorus Native American Ethnobotany (University of Michigan - Dearborn) — for ''Rubus parviflorus''] . accessed 2.12.2013</ref> A tea made from its leaves or roots was thought to be a treatment for wounds, burns, acne, or digestive problems;<ref name="holly">{{cite web|last1=Holly|first1=Henry|title=Thimbleberry|url=https://thenorthwestforager.com/2014/08/17/thimbleberry/|website=The Northwest Forager™|access-date=18 January 2017|date=18 August 2014}}</ref> a tea made from the canes was thought to be useful as a diuretic.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lyle|first=Katie Letcher|title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them|publisher=FalconGuides|year=2010|isbn=978-1-59921-887-8|edition=2nd|location=Guilford, CN|pages=75|oclc=560560606|orig-year=2004}}</ref> As of 2019, there is no evidence from modern clinical research or practice that ''R. parviflorus'' is effective for treating any disease.

Thimbleberry leaves can be used in place of toilet paper when in the wilderness.<ref name=holly/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} * {{Calflora|Rubus parviflorus}} * {{CalPhotos|Rubus|parviflorus}} * {{PFAF|Rubus parviflorus}}

parviflorus Category:Berries Category:Flora of Northern America Category:Flora of the Western United States Category:Canadian cuisine Category:Cuisine of Michigan Category:Bird food plants Category:Butterfly food plants Category:Garden plants of North America Category:Plants described in 1818