Raspberry

the leaf of raspberry (Rubi folium)

The raspberry (Rubus idaeus) is a shrub with upright, sparsely prickly shoots and red compound fruit which comes away from the receptacle when picked and stays hollow; that is how it is told from the blackberry, where the receptacle stays inside the fruit. It grows in clearings, at the edges of woods and on embankments.

For tea the young leaves are gathered in spring, before flowering; older ones are tough. They are dried in the shade or left to ferment slightly, as with the blackberry. The fruit is gathered fully ripe, in July and August, and spoils quickly, so it is processed the same day.

In folk tradition the raspberry leaf is mentioned in connection with the last weeks of pregnancy, so a midwife or a doctor is always asked about using it then.

Use and evidence

The EMA limits the traditional use of the leaf to mild menstrual cramps, mild inflammation of the mouth or throat and mild diarrhoea. Claims about safely bringing on or easing labour are not clinically reliable. EMA.