Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus Nutt.) is a common bramble plant found growing in the wild on sunny, sub-alpine, mountainous slopes and avalanche tracks from Alaska to California. In fact, thimbleberries are a circumpolar fruit that grows wild in Japan and Russia, and all but the most southern regions of North America.
成熟时呈红色的顶针可以生吃,也可以做成酱、果酱和果冻,或做成水果皮或煎饼等其他食品。
The delicious fruit flourishes in thickets, wet open forests, on avalanche slopes, and in subalpine valleys. These valleys are located in Wyoming, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, and the Dakotas. Thimbleberry jam is a featured local delicacy in the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan.
In the northeastern region, thimbleberries flourish in roadside ditches and along fence lines in Michigan through Ontario. Thimbleberries are part of the rose or plant family Rosaceae, genus Rubus.
Other common names include mountain sorrel, white flowering raspberry, western thimbleberry, and western thimble raspberry. The berry derives its name from its unique thimble-like shape.
Thimbleberry is an upright, deciduous, suckering shrub that reaches 4-8 feet at maturity. The shrubs grow in large clumps spread by underground rhizomes and seeds carried by birds and wildlife. Stems present a gray, flaking bark.
Flowers grow on 3-7 inch terminals in flat-topped clusters. The creamy white flowers are delicately scented. Flowers appear in late spring, normally May through June.
Soft, velvety leaves are a deep green color with a pale undertone. In autumn, the leaves turn brilliant shades of orange and maroon. The thimbleberry shrubs develop fleshy, dark red drupelets in a thimble-like coherent of aggregate fruit. The fruits are juicy, tart, and delicious when ripe.
这种浆果比覆盆子更大、更多汁、更扁平、更绒毛。虽然它们很相似,但野生红覆盆子的花要小得多,茎多刺。
Thimbleberries are very juicy and fall apart. They do not ship well and are not cultivated or harvested commercially. They are a special treat when you discover a thicket while on a walk in the forest.
However, you will have to be quick to harvest them at their peak of ripeness. When the thimbleberries are ripe, they attract bees, birds, and other wildlife that feast on the sweet fruit. Black bears, fattening up for winter hibernation, can clean out a thimbleberry patch in a matter of minutes.
Thimbleberry seeds are stimulated by heat and sprout vigorously in recently burned forested areas. In the Pacific Northwest, the thimbleberry is one of the first plants to re-establish in recently burned areas scorched by wildfires.
The fast-growing thimbleberry flourishes in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 4. Thimbleberry grows best in loamy, well-drained soil in a sunny or lightly shaded location. Dense thickets of thimbleberry bushes provide food and habitat for birds, rodents, and other small wildlife. When picking thimbleberries in the wild, only pick from patches of established bushes that are large enough to support harvesting.
Cultivating Thimbleberries In The Homestead Garden
Thimbleberries are a delightful addition to the homestead landscape growing along fence lines or at the edge of a forested grove. Thimbleberries flourish in the same soils and growing conditions as blackberries and raspberries.
顶针藤是没有刺的,是从嫩芽和从地里长出来的嫩枝发育而来的。这种耐寒的灌木长得很快,第二年就会结果。娇嫩的白色或粉红色的花以3到6朵花为簇。
顶针莓不是一种真正的浆果,而是一种聚合果,成熟后会变成粉红色,然后变成红色。果实在一个小的中心核周围呈现为众多的小核果。比覆盆子或黑莓更饱满、更大、更柔软。
Thimbleberry plants are available for purchase online, from local home and garden centers, or may be harvested in the wild. When wild harvesting, dig up tender, young shoots in early spring and transplant as soon as possible.
Thimbleberries cannot tolerate standing water, and the roots will rot in those areas. Many savvy homesteaders plant thimbleberries on open slopes or hills to control erosion and create a brilliant splash of eye-catching color. The large, maple tree-like leaves turn a bold, fiery orange after the first frost.
种植时,间隔2-3英尺。顶针灌木可以长到4-8英尺高,3-4英尺宽,所以要给植物足够的空间。顶针灌木呈现辉煌的秋天叶和经常种植作为景观装饰。甜美多汁的浆果简直是美味的额外奖励!
When pruning your thimbleberry patch, be sure to retain the older canes. Unlike other cane plants, thimbleberries produce the best yields on mature canes that are 2-3 years old. While the butterfly- and bee-attracting plant can grow in almost any soil, enhance the soil before planting with well-aged herbivore manure. Doing so encourages vigorous flower and berry production.
Medicinal Properties
Native American tribal healers used all the parts of the plant for their medicinal properties. Montana Plant Life reports that the leaves are used as a purifying, astringent blood tonic.
Today, thimbleberries can be used in a few different ways as an alternative medicine for a wide variety of ailments.
Thimbleberry Tea
A tea brewed from fresh or dried thimbleberry leaves can be used as a remedy for a whole host of ailments. Historically, the tea was used as a pain reliever for women with long menstrual periods. Here is a list of just some of the aches and pains that thimbleberry tea can relieve:
- Calms nausea and stops vomiting
- Treats stomach and intestinal distress including dysentery, diarrhea, and bleeding ulcers
- Alleviates anemia
- 减少水潴留
In addition, a tea of leaves and shoots can be taken to help gain weight. The fragrant tea is also useful for patients suffering from physical decline or wasting syndrome. An ingredient present in the shoots causes the stomach to contract and adds strength and tone to the stomach area.
The white blossoms are tasty raw or dried and can be added to a tea mixture. Thimbleberry tea is sumptuous hot or cold.
Crushed And Burned Leaves
Fresh, crushed leaves can be rubbed on the skin to relieve minor skin irritations and help heal acne eruptions.
When the leaves are burned,a poultice可以由灰制成。这种药膏有助于从蜘蛛咬伤中提取毒液,同时缓解各种昆虫咬伤和蜇伤带来的瘙痒和灼烧感。将烧焦的树叶涂成粉末,敷在伤口上,也可以防止留下疤痕。
Thimbleberry Oil
Thimbleberry leaves, blended with a lightweight carrier oil (almond, olive, safflower, sunflower) are a time-tested homeopathic remedy to reduce swelling and inflammation. The oil should be applied liberally twice a day.
If you cannot find wild thimbleberries, many health foods stores online carry black raspberry pills, tinctures, and teas that offer similar health-promoting benefits.
Edible Parts of Thimbleberries
The fruit of the plant are sweet and tasty either raw, dried, or cooked. Thimbleberries make excellent jellies, jams, sauces, cobblers, pies, liquors, and wine. They are rather seedy but high in vitamin C and intensely flavorful. Fresh berries are a healthy snack high in antioxidants.
The young shoots of the plant are harvested in early spring. When it comes to harvesting, select shoots that are just starting to exhibit leaves.
- 去皮,在沙拉或可食用的装饰中使用生的。
- Steam or sauté the tender shoots as you would asparagus.
- Fresh shoots are also high in vitamin C and are used as an appetite stimulant.
Thimbleberry Recipes
Thimbleberry Dressing
Thimbleberry dressing is a delightful garnish to spring salad greens, fruit salads, and wild greens. As a note, when gathering wild greens, only pick greens sourced away from roadways where they could have been sprayed with chemical insecticides.
Ingredients
- 2 c. thimbleberries
- 2 tbsp. honey
- ½ c. extra virgin light olive oil
- ½ c. balsamic vinegar
- juice of one freshly squeezed lemon
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Puree all ingredients in a food processor at low speed.
- Taste and adjust seasons as needed.
- Try thimbleberry dressing drizzled over Cornish hens before baking. The dressing provides a tangy brown glaze and distinctive flavor to the birds. At our house, this dish served with garlic-mashed potatoes and fresh garden peas is a family favorite.
Thimbleberry Sauce
在薄煎饼、华夫饼、法式吐司或香草冰淇淋和磅蛋糕上涂上顶针莓酱。
Ingredients
- 2 c. thimbleberries
- ½ c. raw honey
- 1 tbsp. butter
- 1茶匙。cinnamon
- ½ tsp. freshly grated cardamom seed
- ¼ c. crystallized candied ginger
Instructions
- Puree all ingredients.
- Simmer puree in a double boiler over medium heat until mixture is translucent and slightly thickened.
- Cool before refrigerating or hot pack in canning jars.
- Seal and enjoy a taste of summer when the cold winds blow in winter.
References:
- Thimbleberry, Montana Field Guide
- Thimbleberry, United States Forest Service
- Traditional Foods In Native America, United States Department of Health and Human Services
AK Phelpssays
You might want to be aware, the 2nd photo you have shown here is not a thimbleberry, but a strawberry.
我确实很喜欢阅读!!
Leigha Staffenhagensays
I’m glad you enjoyed the article! Thanks for the heads up about the picture!
Damonsays
Thanks for the article! One question: when you say “retain older canes” when pruning, do you mean don’t prune them at all, or prune just the edges for shape (as opposed to pruning down to 6 inches like the new growth)?
Chazesays
Trying to grow them in the UK anyone got any good hints for me to help me produce and I’ve got five seats
Kellysays
Last two pictures are salmonberry. Definitely not the same. Something you only eat if you are really hungry.
Leigha Staffenhagensays
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for the note! I updated those photos.
Leigha
Soleilsays
Salmonberry and thimbleberry are actually different things, not interchangeable and have differing Latin names. Salmonberry is Rubus Spectabilis vs Thimbleberry being Rubus Parviflorus. I grew up picking them both in the PNW
Nancysays
I grew up in the Northwest. Salmonberry bushes vary widely – some are very flavorful, delicious, and sweet while others are bland and nearly tasteless (and it does not depend on location – one tasteless berry bush may be right next to a delicious flavorful bush.
Nancysays
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) and Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) are related but they are entirely different berries.