Raspberry

Raspberry is a shrub of the rose family, native to Europe and northern Asia and cultivated throughout temperate regions; in the wild it forms stands in woods and clearings. A perennial root sends up canes that live for two years: the first year's shoot grows tall and leafy, and the second year's side shoots carry small white five-petalled flowers in late spring, followed by sweet but sharp red fruits. These are not true berries but clusters of tiny drupelets that come away from the core when picked, leaving the fruit hollow. The species name points to Mount Ida, and Kynes retells the legend that the fruit was white until the nymph Ida, nursing the infant Zeus, scratched herself and stained it with her blood. Grieve records raspberry vinegar as a cooling summer drink and gargle, a home-made wine, a dye from the fruit, and the leaf infusion as a gargle, a wash for wounds, a remedy for loose bowels and a warm drink in childbirth. In magic Cunningham gives it to Venus and water: the bramble branches hung at doors and windows protect the house, and after a death keep the departed spirit from coming back in, while the fruit is served to kindle love. Kynes adds fertility and fidelity, and notes its use for luck and faithfulness in hoodoo.