Botanically speaking, the red raspberry is in the rose

Botanically speaking, the red raspberry is in the rose family (Rosaceae), along with the blackberry, strawberry, apple, quince, pear, plum and cherry. It's a big family and a successful one.

The beautiful raspberries, Rubus strigosus, that I picked yesterday were growing at Muskrat Haven Farm on U.S. 211 west of Warrenton. They will be fnade into preserves and sold jit the Archwood Green Bams farmer's market near The Plains. (Lee Trott and I have H vendor's stall there every Sunday.)

The Rubus part of the scientific name indicates that these red fruits are closely related to wineberries, Rubus phoenicolasius, an unpronounceable mouthful. JVineberries are native to Japan and were introduced Into North America. ,, Botanists say these plants are armed. That they surely are. I picked wineberries two weeks ago and — as J did yesterday — left a bit of blood behind from the sharp bristles with which evolution has equipped these plants, to prevent me from doing just ■what I did.

I think one must always be prepared to leave a bit of blbod behind when searching for treasure. ■> The botanical aspects of raspberry picking are interesting and useful, but it is "the picking experience itself that I want to write about.

Bumblebees and honey bees hummed and worked harder than I did among the plants. They landed on raspberry blooms seeking pollen.

I watched one bumblebee qs he pushed yellow pollen into the sacs on his legs. His efforts were rewarded, as were the raspberry flowers Jre was pollinating for future red fruits.

, The bees hummed while ;tfiey worked; I picked silentfa. From far away in the big frees, a cicada droned his dry and insistent summons to a female. ■ ■ The insect serenade was a happy background for bird 'song. I heard the sweet notes of a wood pewee up near the