Rubus arcticus


Rubus arcticus, the Arctic bramble or Arctic raspberry, is a species of slow-growing bramble belonging to the rose family, found in arctic and alpine regions in the Northern Hemisphere.
Its dark red fruit is considered a delicacy. In the Pacific Northwest of western Canada and the northwestern United States, it is sometimes called the nagoon or nagoonberry, a name which derives from the Tlingit neigóon. A measure of the quality of its fruit is expressed in its Russian name княженика knyazhenika, signifying the "berry of princes". It grows in Alaska, northern Scandinavia and Finland, Russia, Poland, Belarus, Mongolia, northeastern China, North Korea, Estonia, Lithuania, Canada, and the northern United States as far south as Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, and Maine.

Description

Rubus arcticus grows most often in acidic soils rich in organic matter. It is a thornless perennial up to 30 cm tall, woody at the base but very thin farther above the ground. flowers are in groups of 1-3, the petals pink, red, or magenta. Fruit is deep red or dark purple, with an unusual hardiness to frost and cold weather conditions.

Uses

The fruits of the Arctic raspberry are very tasty and, among other uses, make jam and liqueur, or flavour tea. Carl von Linné considered the Arctic raspberry – åkerbär in Swedish – a great delicacy in his Flora Lapponica. Also used in Smirnoff Ice and North, and Lignell & Piispanen's Mesimarjalikööri, and Wine fruit of Arctic RaspBerry. Arctic raspberry is the provincial plant of the Norrbotten province of northern Sweden.