A closer look at Thimbleberry

Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) is a fascinating plant in the Rose Family and common in Point Reyes. You’ll find it along nearly every trail and even on the roadside. Its large fuzzy green leaves and bright white flowers make it easy to spot. The large soft leaves have been called the “toilet paper” plant for their obvious utility. Thimbleberry does not have thorns but it’s often intertwined with other brambles as you can see in the photo below.

The berries are similar to raspberries but flatter and more fragile when picked - they fall apart in your hands. Their coloring ranges from salmon to bright red, and their flavor can be bland or sweet and jammy. The flowers are among the largest of any Rubus species, making its Latin species name parviflorus ("small-flowered") a misnomer.

Some hikes are dominated by one thing — curiosity about a certain plant or spotting an elusive animal or even noticing an intriguing shape or pattern in a tree trunk. On this hike, I was drawn to the beauty of the various parts of the Thimbleberry. The photos below were taken on a single day, August 18, 2019 at several points along the Muddy Hollow Road Trail.

Discover more about the Thimbleberry on iNaturalist.