Wild Raspberries

R. idaeus is the modern botanical name of the chief species of both the wild and cultivated raspberry. The old English name for raspberry was ‘raspis’. Its origin is obscure, but thought to be connected with the rough, slightly hairy, and thus ‘rasping’ surface of a raspberry, compared with the shiny, smooth blackberry. Another old name was ‘hindberry’, given because the fruit was eaten by deer. The common German and Danish names are forms of the same word.