# Another Botanical Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642 "2016-06-28T19:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/1 "2016-06-28T19:02:23Z")
I have a lot of these plants growing on my property in Northwest Montana. The leaves are large, and they have medium white flowers. They look like they may be forming berries. Any idea what they are? [pic 1](http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/sshapero/media/IMG_0232.jpg.html) [pic 2](http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/sshapero/media/IMG_0233.jpg.html) [pic 3](http://s1162.photobucket.com/user/sshapero/media/IMG_0239.jpg.html) ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/2 "2016-06-28T19:46:58Z")
I don’t know much about Montana’s flora, but they look like some kind of blackberry (or possibly raspberry) to me. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/3 "2016-06-28T19:50:19Z")
We have wild blackberries on the property and they have leaves 1/2 to 1/4 the size of these plants. Hence my question. I guess we’ll see what they turn into. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/4 "2016-06-28T20:00:35Z")
[Thimbleberry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_parviflorus), which is a species of _Rubus_. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/5 "2016-06-28T20:06:32Z")
Wait … they grow cell phones in Montana? The leaf shape … 5 sepals … **Filbert** is on to something … the genus is _Rubus_, you’ll need a local Flora with a key to find the exact species. Do the stems have thorns? ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/6 "2016-06-28T20:09:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Thimbleberry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_parviflorus), which is a species of _Rubus_. That cite is unclear about range … here’s [the map](http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=RUPA) from the USDA clearly showing Montana. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/7 "2016-06-28T20:20:35Z")
That’s it! Thimbleberry. I will mix the berries in with the wild blackberries and see what happens when I make jam out of them. They don’t appear to be poisonous, which is what I was concerned about. Thanks for fighting my ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/8 "2016-06-28T20:24:03Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > We have wild blackberries on the property and they have leaves 1/2 to 1/4 the size of these plants. Hence my question. I guess we’ll see what they turn into. The thimbleberries will turn red and you can eat them. Kind of watery and don’t have much taste. They are soft and mushy and don’t transport well or much at all. If you pick a bowl, by the time you get them back to your house you will have a bowl of red mushy berry soup. You can pick and eat some while out walking around but they lack most of the favorable traits we think of as being food berries. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/9 "2016-06-28T20:28:34Z")
Yeah, thimbleberries are edible but they’re not that great. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-botanical-question/758642/10 "2016-06-28T22:55:49Z")
dolphinboy: Try cooking them. I like blackberries but consider them insipid until stewed with water, a bit of sugar and a few scratchings of nutmeg. A squeeze of lemon juice may help to brighten up the flavor of your berries. I’m still waiting to hear from Mr. Magoo, I gave him the same hint for dealing with his razzleberries. 😉