Plant Family: Rosaceae
Growth Form: Biennial, stoloniferous shrub with strongly arching stems.
Leaves: Alternate, compound, with 3 – 5 ovate to lanceolate, toothed, long-pointed leaflets, silvery white beneath; if there are 5 leaflets they are palmately compound.
Bark: The arching canes have a whitish bloom and scattered recurved prickles; they will root where the tips contact the ground.
Flowers: White, with 5 reflexed sepals and 5 spoon-shaped petals; numerous short stamens form a ring around the central pistils; late May to June.
Fruits: The aggregate red fruits ripen to shiny purple-black and are quite tasty; the whitish core is left behind on the stalk when the fruit is picked; July to Sept.
Habitat: Roadsides, old fields, sunny banks, thickets, disturbed sites.
Range: Throughout New England, south to Georgia and west to Minnesota.
Similar Species: Red Raspberry has bristly canes that lack a whitish bloom and fruits that ripen to red.
