Native Garden Plant Factsheets

Blackcap Raspberry (Ⱦ₭OM¸E¸IȽĆ / t̕ᶿq̕ʷam̕əʔíɬč)

Illustration by Sabrina Saenko

English Name(s): Blackcap Raspberry, also Whitebark Raspberry
Scientific Name: Rubus leucodermis
SENĆOŦEN Name: Ⱦ₭OM¸E¸IȽĆ (bush), Ⱦ₭OM¸E (berry), NEKIXȾ₭OM¸E (berry when black)
lək̓ʷəŋən Name: t̕ᶿq̕ʷam̕əʔíɬč (bush), t̕ᶿq̕ʷám̕əʔ (berry), nəq̕íx̣t̕ᶿq̕ʷam̕əʔ (berry when black)

Fun Facts:
The shoots of this plant can grow up to 2m tall, with its bluish-white waxy stems adorning flattened hooked prickles. Its flowers are small (~1 in) and white coming in clusters of 3 to 7. Its berries are similar to raspberries, but more dark purple and blue in colour when ripe. Its leaves are egg shaped with sharp leaflets and shiny white undersides.

Traditional Uses:
Indigenous peoples ate the sweet juicy berries fresh, boiled, or dried. In particular, the Coast Salish peoples mashed the sundried berries into cakes around one inch thick, which could be stored for the winter. Such cakes were rehydrated overnight for eating and supposedly tasted just like the fresh berries. They were often eaten with dried meat or fish, or as a dessert when boiled. Otherwise, the berries could be used to make a purple dye. New shoots of the plant could be peeled and eaten cooked or raw, whereas the roots of the plant were soaked in a drink to treat the flu.

Blooms: May to June
Season: July to August
Habitat: Open areas such as disturbed sites, fields, open forests, forest edges, along old roads, or even clear-cut areas
Range: Temperate regions along the west coast from Southeastern Alaska to Northern Mexico; most plentiful locally along the Malahat Ridge

Further Sources:

http://nativeplantspnw.com/blackcap-raspberry-rubus-leucodermis/
Saanich Ethnobotany by Nancy J. Turner & Richard J. Hebda
Plants of Coastal British Columbia by Jim Pojar & Andy MacKinnon

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