History of Red Raspberry

The fruits are native to Eastern Europe and North Asia, raspberry Latin name Rubus idaeus means ‘bramble bush of Ida’ as name hold another story for its naming when the Olympian Gods were looking for berries on mount Ida.

The red raspberry is a unique berry with a rich history that dates back to the first century when the fruits were gathered from the wild by the people of Troy in the foothills of Mt. Ida.

The fruit was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder, in about 45 A.D. Pliny wrote about “Ida fruits" that were harvested from the slopes of Mount Ida in Greece. Raspberries were not cultivated at that time, but were collected from the wild, primarily for medicinal use.

Dioscorides, Greek physician and pharmacologist, was a native of Anazarbus in Cilicia. In his well-known herbal De Materia Medica, Dioscorides describes the medicinal properties of the Idaean raspberry.

It is believed that raspberries to be first cultivated by Romans somewhere around fourth century AD as expressed by Palladio Opus agricultureae and seeds have been discovered at Roman forts in Britain.

The Romans are thought to have spread cultivation throughout Europe. In medieval Europe, wild berries were used for medicinal purposes and their juices for paintings and illuminating manuscripts. By the mid 1600s, raspberries had become popular in London markets.
History of Red Raspberry

The history of raspberry

The history of raspberry consumption and domestication goes back to ancient times. The European raspberry is a native of Europe from Greece and Italy, north into Scandinavia and far eastward into Asia.

It was name for Mount Ida, in Asia Minor and was possibly more or less cultivated in southern Europe in ancient times. Fruits were gathered from the wild by the people of Troy in the foothills of Mount Ida around the time of Christ. Records of domestication were found in 4th century writings of Palladius, a Roman agriculturist and seeds have been discovered at Roman forts in Britain.

It is believed that Roman soldiers spread the cultivation of this plant throughout Europe. Raspberry gradually grew in popularity over the centuries, and by the 1500s, R. idaeus was cultivated all over Europe.

King Edward I is recognized as the first person to call for the cultivation of berries. By the 17th century, British gardens were rich with berries and berry bushes. In 1829, 23 raspberry cultivars were liste0 in the “History of English Gardening”.

It was early brought to America by colonists from Europe and prior to the middle of the nineteenth century was the only raspberry commonly cultivated in USA.
The history of raspberry

Origin of Raspberry

There are three kinds of raspberry. The red raspberry and the black raspberry are the types which are most often grown. The yellow raspberry is cultivated only to a limited extent and more as a novelty than as a staple variety.

The raspberry has long been one of the important bush fruits of Europe. The world plant is native to Europe, and it was named Rubus Idaues by Linnaeus from Mt. Ida in Greece.

Pliny wrote that they called the raspberry ‘idaues’ because it grew thickly on the slopes of Mount Ida. The first people known to have cultivated raspberry were the ancient Greeks. The first recorded raspberry harvest was from Mt. Ida in AD 45.

Some have suggested that the Ide mountains in Turkey were the actual place of origin.

Record were found in 4th century writing of Palladius, a Roman agriculturist and seeds have been discovered at Roman forts in Britain; hence, the Romans probably spread cultivation throughout Europe. They also used raspberry for medicinal purpose throughout of Europe.
 
The British popularize and improved raspberries throughout the middles ages, and exported the plants to New York by 1771.

New York State Experiment Station began a breeding program for raspberry in the late 1800s. By 1925, 415 varieties were available and many thousands of acres of raspberries were grown throughout northeastern United States.
Origin of Raspberry