Useful Information On Common Red Raspberry - Rubus Idaeus

Other Common Names: Ahududu, American Red Raspberry, Common Red Raspberry, European Red Raspberry, Framboises, Frambosia, Frambueso, Wild Raspberry, Rubus idaeus

Range: Europe; France; Haiti; Spain; Turkey; USA

Habitat: Moist neglected land, hedgerows and woodland edges. Prefers a good deep well-drained loamy soil on the acid side.

The Raspberry grows wild as far north as lat. 70 degrees, and southward it appears to have been abundant on Mount Ida, in Asia Minor, lat. 39 degrees 40'. It was known to the Ancients, and Linnaeus retained the classic name of Ida, with which it was associated by Dioscorides. It was called in Greek Batos Idaia, and in Latin Rubus Idaea, the Bramble of Mount Ida. Gerard calls it Raspis or Hindberry, and Hindberry is a derivation of the Saxon name Hindbeer.

The Raspberry contains a crystallizable fruit-sugar, a fragrant volatile oil, pectin, citric and malic acids, mineral salts, coloring matter and water. The ripe fruit is fragrant, subacid and cooling: it allays heat and thirst, and is not liable to acetous fermentation in the stomach.

The leaves and roots are anti-inflammatory, astringent, decongestant, ophthalmic, oxytoxic and stimulant. A tea made from them is used in the treatment of diarrhea, as a tonic for the uterus to strengthen pregnant women, and as an aid in childbirth. The tea has also been shown as effective in relieving painful menstrual cramps. The active ingredients both stimulate and relax the uterus. They can be used during the last three months of pregnancy and during childbirth, but should not be used earlier.

Externally, the leaves and roots are used as a gargle to treat tonsillitis and mouth inflamations, as a poultice and wash to treat sores, conjunctivitis, minor wounds, burns and varicose ulcers. The leaves are harvested in the summer and dried for later use.

The fruit is antiscorbutic and diuretic. Fresh raspberry juice, mixed with a little honey, makes an excellent refrigerant beverage to be taken in the heat of a fever. Made into a syrup, it is said to have a beneficial effect on the heart.

A home-made wine, brewed from the fermented juice of ripe Raspberries, is antiscrofulous, and Raspberry syrup dissolves the tartar of the teeth.

Fruit - raw or cooked. Delicious when eaten out of hand, the fruit is also used in pies, preserves etc.

A decongestant face-mask made from the fruit is used cosmetically to soothe reddened skin.

- Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225

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