Montane, subalpine. Woodlands, disturbed areas. Spring, summer.
Lower Scotch Creek Road, June 25, 2000.

"Parviflorum" means "small flowered", which Thimbleberry definitely isn’t, having flowers that are several inches in diameter.  Everything else about the plant is also big: it grows in extensive patches, it sometimes reaches six feet tall, its leaves are commonly 6-8 inches wide, and its berries are up to 3/4 inch wide with a very big rich fruity taste.

The Rubacer genus name is more accurate: "ruber" is "red’ which the fruits definitely are and "acer" refers to the maple-like leaf. (Maples are "acers".)

Linnaeus named the Rubus genus in 1753.  Thomas Nuttall was the first to collect this species for science; he found it in 1811 on an island in Lake Huron and named it Rubus parviflorus in his 1818 Genera of North American Plants.   Per Axel Rydberg created a new genus, Rubacer, for this plant in 1903.

Montane, subalpine. Openings, scree. Summer.
Lower Scotch Creek Road, June 25, 2000.

Sometimes in dense patches, sometimes sparsely scattered, Wild Raspberries are common in the San Juans and other mountains of the Four Corners area. Their berries ripen in late summer/fall and in good years can be enjoyed by the handful. Too often, however, bushes bear few fruits and even more often wild critters get the fruits before humans do.  

"Rubus", the ancient Latin name for the plant, refers to the red berries.  "Idaeus" honors Mount Ida, south of the ancient city of Troy.  This plant was named Rubus idaeus by Linnaeus in 1753 and it has had dozens of names since then.  The North American variety of this species is very similar to the European one that Linnaeus saw.

Montane, subalpine. Openings, scree. Summer.
Horse Creek Trail, June 21, 2005.

Montane, subalpine. Openings, scree. Summer.
Horse Creek Trail, June 21, 2005.