{"id":114837,"date":"2025-11-22T15:02:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T15:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/?p=114837"},"modified":"2025-11-24T08:30:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T08:30:53","slug":"cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) Identification"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><strong>Cloudberry\/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Edible<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-114837 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/cloudberry-young-plant-in-flower\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-young-plant-in-flower-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-young-plant-in-flower-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-young-plant-in-flower-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-young-plant-in-flower-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/cloudberry-shot-of-the-plant-in-situ\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-plant-in-situ-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-plant-in-situ-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-plant-in-situ-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-plant-in-situ-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-plant-in-situ-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/cloudberry-shot-of-plant-with-unripe-fruit\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-plant-with-unripe-fruit-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-114844\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-plant-with-unripe-fruit-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-plant-with-unripe-fruit-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-plant-with-unripe-fruit-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-114844'>\n\t\t\t\tKristof Zyskowski &#038; Yulia Bereshpolova, CC BY 2.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2025\/11\/22\/cloudberry-rubus-chamaemorus-identification\/cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-114845\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-450x450.jpg 450w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-114845'>\n\t\t\t\tRyan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An interesting perennial relative of Blackberries and Raspberries, with striking orange fruits. It is native across cooler temperate to boreal regions of the world. In the UK they are mainly found in higher altitudes. The English name makes sense when you notice that they tend to grow in high places with a lot of mist and clouds!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Common Names<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">knotberry, knoutberry, oot berry, lambs leaf<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Botanical Name<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rubus <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chamaemorus<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Scientific Classification<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Kingdom<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 Plantae<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013Rosales<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Family<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 Rosaceae<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Physical Characteristics for Cloudberry<\/b><\/h2>\n<h2><b>Leaves<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The plant looks similar to a common blackberry, but is overall a bit smaller and less vigorous. The sprawling stems and covered with small prickles. Thedeeply veined leaves are matte green, sometimes tinged with bronze, and have 5-7 wide lobes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_114845\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-114845\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-114845\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves-120x150.jpg 120w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-leaves.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-114845\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ryan Hodnett, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Flowers<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The flowers appear from May onwards, and have five white to cream petals, with a cluster of yellow to brown anthers in the middle and five bracts on the back. They resemble a small wild rose<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-114842\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-shot-of-the-flower.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/b><\/h2>\n<h2><b>Fruit\/Seeds\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fruits ripen in July, turning from red to an eye catching golden orange. They look like a small orange blackberry, being made up of a cluster of bobbles or \u2018drupelets\u2019.\u00a0 The drupes are smaller than a blackberry but with individual drupelets that are a bit bigger.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a small seed inside each individual bobble of the fruit.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-114843\" src=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-300x215.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"215\" srcset=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-300x215.jpg 300w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Cloudberry-close-up-of-the-fruit.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/b><\/h2>\n<h2><b>Roots<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cloudberry can form extensive spreading rhizomes, up to 10 metres long<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Habitat<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cloudberries prefer acidic soils in colder regions and higher altitudes. It can be found in bogs, marshes and moorland. In the UK it is relatively rare, being found in more mountainous areas of Northern England, North Wales and Scotland.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Known Hazards<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">None known, apart from minor scratches from the prickly stems\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Could be Confused with<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would be very easy to confuse Cloudberry with other Rubus species, most often the <a href=\"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/2018\/11\/10\/blackberry-identification-rubus-fruticosus\/\">Blackberry <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(<\/span>Rubus Fruticosus)<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which is much more common and has black blue\/black berries. However this would not be a deadly mistake as the other Rubus species are generally also edible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Edible Uses<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fruits can be eaten just like a blackberry, but taste more tart even when fully ripe <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They are prized in a variety of traditional desserts and liqueurs in Nordic countries, Alaska and Canada. They can be used raw, scattered fresh on desserts, porridge or muesli, incorporated into pies and crumbles or made into jam. The leaves can be used as a herbal tea<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Notes on Herbal Uses<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The fruits are high in antioxidants and polyphenols &#8211; and the high Vitamin C content meant they were used to ward off scurvy through the long Northern winters and by seafarers on long voyages. It seems to also have some interesting antibacterial properties . Some modern skincare brands are including cloudberries in their products for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The leaves can be used as a tea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Conservation Considerations<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Cloudberry has suffered from habitat loss and is considered rare and endangered in Ireland and Germany, for instance. The habitats you might find it in can potentially be quite rare and sensitive &#8211; you should try not to cause too much disturbance while exploring. Do not go picking on SSSIs , just appreciate the unique ecology and do your bit to preserve it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Extra notes from the Foragers<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The genus Rubus is pretty confusing even for experienced botanists, with lots of hybrids and micro-species. So don&#8217;t beat yourself up if you find them tricky at first!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><b>References:<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/plantatlas2020.org\/atlas\/2cd4p9h.5kh\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/plantatlas2020.org\/atlas\/2cd4p9h.5kh<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cloudberry\/ Spring \/ Summer \/ Autumn \/ Edible An interesting perennial relative of Blackberries and Raspberries, with striking orange fruits. It is native across cooler temperate to boreal regions of the world. In the UK they are mainly found in higher altitudes. The English name makes sense when you notice&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":114843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1780,85,101,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-edible","category-foraging","category-plant-identification","category-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114837"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":138107,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114837\/revisions\/138107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/totallywilduk.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}