great variation in the genus Rubus, some botanists have preferred 

 to divide it up into three or more genera, including such segregates as 

 Bossekia, Oreobatus, and Rubacer, but more conservative authorities 

 include all in the one genus Rubus. Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), 

 who first named and described this plant 1 (from the shores of Lake 

 Huron), speaks of the flowers as. small, and apparently based his 

 description on a depauperate or otherwise abnormal specimen. 



Thimbleberry is, perhaps, the most abundant and widely distrib- 

 uted of the western species of Rubus. It occurs in all of the far 

 Western States, and ranges from Alaska to California, Chihuahua, 

 New Mexico, South Dakota, Michigan, and western Ontario. It 

 grows in moist, shaded situations along streams and moist draws, on 

 wooded hillsides under open stands of aspen, ponderosa pine, lodge- 

 pole pine, Douglas fir, and western larch, and in partially shaded 

 situations of brushy slopes. This plant favors sandy loam soils, rich 

 in humus, but is also common on rocky, thin-soiled sites. 



Thimbleberry, occurring as scattered single plants or often form- 

 ing dense, almost pure, patches, is a common and conspicuous plant in 

 many localities. It is perhaps less abundant in the mountains of Colo- 

 rado and the Southwest than elsewhere in its range. On the Pacific 

 coast it is a common undershrub in the humid Douglas fir and west- 

 ern hemlock forests, some patches being so dense that the large 

 leaves form a, continuous mosaic on the forest floor. It is also com- 

 mon in the moister situations of the ponderosa pine belt in Wash- 

 ington, Oregon, and California, especially in the upper limits of the 

 zone, or on northern slopes, where Douglas fir or red fir and ponde- 

 rosa pine grow in mixture. Thimbleberry extends from near sea level 

 to elevations of about 6,000 feet in the Northwest and to 7,000 feet 

 in California ; in Colorado it occurs in deep woods, usually between 

 elevations of 6,000 and 9,000 feet, and in the high mountains of New 

 Mexico it appears principally above 9,000 feet. 



The palatability of thimbleberry varies considerably in different 

 localities. In the Intermountain region, California, and parts of the 

 Southwest it is generally fair feed for sheep but practically worth- 

 less for cattle. It usually rates poor for cattle and fair for sheep 

 in the Northwest, but in some localities is ranked up to fair for cattle 

 and good for sheep. Throughout most of the Rocky Mountain region, 

 from Montana to Colorado, it is ordinarily not grazed by livestock 

 to any material degree. There is marked variation in palatability, 

 however, even in the same region or locality. Under certain specific 

 conditions, as when it occurs under dense stands of timber or with 

 plant associations containing a scarcity of highly palatable vegeta- 

 tion, thimbleberry is sometimes utilized heavily. Both deer and elk 

 graze the leafage of this plant with slight to moderate relish. 



The juicy, scarlet berries have an agreeable, tartly sweet flavor. 

 They are often picked and eaten in the woods, but are seldom pro- 

 duced on sufficient scale to be of value for domestic purposes. 2 



1 Nuttall, T. THE GENERA OF NORTH AMERICAN PLANTS, AND A CATALOGUE OF THE 



SCECIES TO THE TEAR 1817. 2 v. Philadelphia. 1818. 



2 Hedrick, U. P. (edited by). STURTEVANT'S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS. 686pp. Albany, 

 N. Y. 1919. [N. Y. Dept. Agr. 27th Ann. Kept. 2(2).] 



