108 



American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



Valley; Swiftcurrent Lake and Valley; trail to Iceberg Lake; trail to Grinnnell 

 Glacier; Kintla Lake. YELLOWSTONE, abundant: Canyon junction; start of trail to 

 lower Yellowstone Falls. GRAND TETON, 6,000 to 8,500 feet: Indian Paintbrush Can- 

 yon; Jackson Lake. ROCKY MOUNTAIN: trail to Twin Sisters, 10,000 feet. ISLE ROYALE, 

 common in forest openings and old burns: Mott Island; Lake Richie trail. 



Var. arizonicus (Greene). GRAND CANYON, on the North Rim: near start of Kaibab 

 tiail; Bright Angel Sprmg. 



12. Western Thimbleberry 

 (Rubus parviflorus Nutt.), fig. 

 46. — Widely spreading shrub 2 

 to 6 feet high, the young twigs 

 and herbage soft-hairy; bark 

 light brown, shreddy; leaves large, 

 3 to 12 inches across, usually with 

 3 to 5 broad lobes, the margins 

 irregularly toothed; flowers white, 

 1 to 2 (or 3) inches across, borne 

 in clusters of 4 to 7 at the ends 

 of the branches; berries bright red, 

 raspberry-like, about ^2 to % inch 

 broad. (Syn. R. nutkamis Moc ) 



Western thimbleberry is the 

 most abundant and widely dis- 

 tributed of any species of Rubus 

 in the western national parks. It 

 is especially abundant along 

 streams in the open woods or on 

 burned-over areas at low or mid- 

 dle elevations, the bushes often 

 growing so close together that the 

 leaves form an almost unbroken mosaic above the forest floor. The large 

 undivided leaves and thomless stems are in contrast to most other raspberries 

 and blackberries which have compound leaves and prickly stems. The species 

 is also sometimes called white flowering raspberry. Large white rose-like 

 flowers are very showy in the spring and early summer, or until replaced by 

 bright scarlet-red raspberry-like fruits. The berries, which are quite tart- and 

 strong-flavored, are often eaten by hikers along the trails, but are seldom 

 picked for other uses. They are relished by many kinds of birds and mam- 

 mals. Deer and elk browse the foliage. 



We have not here taken into account the many varieties of this species 

 sometimes recognized in the western states.^i 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC, abundant: Mount Angeles; Lake Crescent; Elwha River 

 near Camp Wilder; Low Divide; Skokomish Valley; Marmot Lake, mount rainier, 

 common, 2,000 to 4,000 feet: Stevens Canyon. CRATER LAKE, common, 4,000 to 5,500 

 feet: lower Annie Creek; Wildcat Spring; Sun Creek Canyon; Redblanket Canyon. 

 YOSEMITE, occasional, 3,500 to 7,000 feet: Pohono trail; Ledge trail; Happy Isles; 

 Davis road, near Crane Flat. KINGS CANYON: near Sphinx Creek. SEQUOIA, common: 



Fig. 46. Western thimbleberry {Rubus 

 parviflorus) . 



21 Fernald, M. L., Rubus parviflorus and its varieties. Rhodora 37: 273-284. 1935. 



