Native Raspberry

~ Rubus parvifolius ~

ROSACEAE

A plant to inspire our childhood imaginations of enchanted wild gardens and bandicoots scuttering through the brambles. Native Raspberry is an edible native for our culinary toolboxes. Its fruit can be used in jams, cakes ... basically anywhere you’d place a raspberry, the Rubus parvifolius will tastefully go. This delightful summertime treat will tingle your taste buds while on a walk through the bush. Apart from sparking up our appetites we also need to be aware that this native is one that can be easily taken over by the noxious weed lantana, as they both enjoy similar habitats. The eradication of destructive weeds is an important step in the conservation of our native wildlife. Feel free to store a pair of gloves and secateurs in your car and be that strange kid cutting weeds out along a quiet stretch of country road. Lantana especially chokes the life out of our native landscapes, and our valued plants such as this one can be taken over in a very short space of time.

WHERE TO LOOK

This prickly bramble can be found scrambling in shady spots throughout the east and south-east of Australia. It enjoys a wide range of habitats such as riverbanks, roadsides, forests and woodlands. It can be found in the company of Eucalypts and other scramblers such as Scarlet Runner (see p. 161) and the Happy Wanderer (see p. 17) from the Coral Pea family.

Locations → QLD: Goomburra, Warwick, Cunninghams Gap and D’Aguilar National Park; NSW: Pambula Beach and Blackbutt Forest Reserve; Victoria: Koolunga Native Reserve and Yarran Dheran Reserve.

FEATURES

Native Raspberry grows 1–2m tall and wide with long woody branches and prickly stems. Its beautiful tiny blooms have long hairy sepals creating a star shape around a purple-pink centre. From the rose family, this plant is both related to the classic rose as well as the common raspberry. The fruit is red, raspberry-like and around 1cm. In Japan, where the R. parvifolius is naturalised, they make the berries into wine.

FLOWERING SEASON

Late spring to Summer → This perennial shrub flowers between October and February, followed by fruit until April.

PLANTING

This is an excellent plant to cultivate as all of the plant can be used for food. R. parvifolius can climb or trail. Use a natural fertiliser to bring on more fruit. It’ll enjoy most soil types in sun or part shade.