How to Identify Wild Raspberry Plants
Wild raspberry plants are very different from their cultivated counterparts. This may make their identification a little more difficult if you're only familiar with cultivated raspberry plants and their fruit. Wild raspberries can be found in a variety of colors including white, yellow, red, purple and black. As long as they haven't been sprayed with herbicide, the berries are perfectly safe to eat and contain vitamin C and potassium.
Look for the cane of the plant. Raspberries grow on canes that bend over and root into the ground, sprouting a new plant. Black raspberry canes are purple; the canes of red raspberries are a lighter, cinnamon color.
- Wild raspberry plants are very different from their cultivated counterparts.
- This may make their identification a little more difficult if you're only familiar with cultivated raspberry plants and their fruit.
Look at the leaves and flowers. The leaves of the wild raspberry plant are pointed and toothed along the sides. They may be hairy on the top. Look at the flowers. This plant blooms in late spring. If the plant is in bloom, it will have small white flowers.
Identify the fruit. A raspberry is small and round, made of many smaller drupelets. Tiny hairs will be present over the surface of the fruit. The color may vary drastically depending on the plant, but the drupelets are a good giveaway.
- Look at the leaves and flowers.
- Tiny hairs will be present over the surface of the fruit.
Kill Raspberry Plants
Wild and cultivated raspberries (Rubus spp.) Put the raspberry canes, stumps and roots in the trash, and fill in the hole with fresh soil. Spraying raspberry plants in fall with a systemic herbicide is an effective control. Systemic herbicides move through plants to their roots, and they move most efficiently in fall, when raspberries and other perennial plants are storing energy in their roots before winter. Put on protective clothing, and spray raspberry plants with a 2 percent ready-to-use glyphosate product on a dry, still day before the first frost, covering all the leaves and stems. Fill in the gaps with soil. After controlling the raspberry plants in your garden, check the area every month during the growing season and prune any shoots that are growing over the barrier.
- Wild and cultivated raspberries (Rubus spp.)
- Systemic herbicides move through plants to their roots, and they move most efficiently in fall, when raspberries and other perennial plants are storing energy in their roots before winter.
Tip
If you're hunting for raspberry plants in the forest, make a lot of noise as you go. This will help frighten away any nearby bears who may be there for the same purpose.
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Writer Bio
Mandi Rogier is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about a wide range of topics. As a previous employee of Walt Disney World, she enjoys writing travel articles that make use of her extensive knowledge of Orlando theme parks.
