| Raspberry |
| (Rubus idaeus, R.occidentalis) |
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Description: Shrub; spiny branches; compound leaves, three to five leaflets, sharply toothed; white flowers, three or more petals. Red and black raspberries are found along the fringes of woods, fence rows, and the margins of fields. Berries are ready for harvest in late spring and early summer. Location: Throughout the United States. Cooking tips: Use as pie filling or stir into pancake batter and muffin mixes. Makes excellent jam or jelly. Medicinal uses: Leaves can be steeped in tea and used as a tonic for pregnant women. Native Americans used root for diarrhea dysentery. Also used to flavor medicines. Like other berries, here's a great dietary choice for weight watchers. High in cancer fighting ellagic acid. One cup of raspberries per day shows promise as an ant-cancer agent. Nananone, the frosty appearance of wild raspberries, is an anti-fungal agent that protects the berries from fungal infections. That's why wild raspberries do not spoil as quickly as cultivars that have lost their capacity to produce Nananone. |