108 ROSACEAE , 



RUBUS OCCIDENTALIS Linnaeus 

 Common Blackcap Raspberry 



The Common Blackcap Raspberry, fig. 24, is a shrub with 

 canelike stems sometimes 10 or 12 feet long, which arch and 

 recurve so that the tips often root in the soil. It is sparingly 

 armed with strong, recurved prickles. Old canes are purplish 

 and more or less glaucous, and new canes are so glaucous as 

 to be whitish. The leaves are 3-foliate, or rarely on new canes 

 some are 5-foliate. The leaflets are ovate, generally 2 to 3 

 inches long, and abruptly acuminate at the apex, and the ter- 

 minal leaflet is rounded or cordate at the base. Leaflet margins 

 are doubly serrate and the blades are smooth or nearly so above 

 but white-tomentose beneath. Both the petioles and the leaflet 

 stalks are glabrous or only slightly pubescent. 



The corymbs of flowers are either terminal or axillary and 

 consist of only a few flowers, w^hich bloom from early May 

 until early June. The petals are white, and the sepals, which 

 are tomentose on both sides, are reflexed at flowering time but 

 close about the ripening fruit, w^hich is matured from the last 

 of June until the last of July. It is black, hemispheric, variable 

 in size, more or less tomentose, about ^ to ^ inch in diameter, 

 juicy and quite edible. 



Distribution. — The Common Blackcap occurs in both moist 

 and dry habitats in open woods and clearings and on the borders 

 of streams and lakes. In these situations, it ranges from New 

 Brunswick westward to Minnesota and southward to Georgia 

 and Colorado. In Illinois, it is the most common of the rasp- 

 berries and is to be found in almost all parts of the state. Its ^ 

 fruit, in season, is commonly picked and eaten. 



RUBUS IDAEUS Linnaeus 



European Red Raspberry 



The European Red Raspberry, fig. 24, is a shrub with erect, 

 light-colored, finely tomentose stems, which are armed with 

 bristles or weak prickles. The leaves of 1-year-old canes are 

 pinnately 5-foliate, and those on the flower-bearing branches 

 are 3-foliate. The terminal leaflets are broadly ovate, rounded 

 or cordate at the base, short-acuminate at the tips, and doubly j 

 serrate along the margins. They are 2 to 4 inches long and " 



