The boysenberry is a

cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

between the European raspberry (''

Rubus idaeus ''Rubus idaeus'' (raspberry, also called red raspberry or occasionally European red raspberry to distinguish it from other raspberry species) is a red-fruited species of ''Rubus'' native to Europe and northern Asia and commonly cultivated in oth ...

''), European blackberry ('' Rubus fruticosus''), American dewberry ('' Rubus aboriginum''), and loganberry (''Rubus'' × ''loganobaccus'').

Description

Boysenberries grow on low, trailing plants. It is a large aggregate fruit with a deep

maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...

color, weighing and containing large seeds. The fruits are characterized by their soft texture, thin skins, and sweet-tart flavor. Mature fruits leak juice very easily and can start to decay within a few days of harvest.

Cultivation

The exact origins of the boysenberry are unclear, but the most definite records trace the plant as it is known today back to grower Rudolph Boysen, who obtained the dewberry–loganberry parent from the farm of John Lubben. In the late 1920s, George M. Darrow of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

began tracking down reports of a large, reddish-purple

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

that had been grown on Boysen's farm in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. Darrow enlisted the help of Walter Knott, another farmer, who was known as a berry expert. Knott had never heard of the new berry, but he agreed to help Darrow in his search. Darrow and Knott learned that Boysen had abandoned his growing experiments several years earlier and sold his farm. Undaunted by this news, Darrow and Knott headed out to Boysen's old farm, on which they found several frail vines surviving in a field choked with weeds. They transplanted the vines to Knott's farm in Buena Park, California, where he nurtured them back to fruit-bearing health. Walter Knott was the first to commercially cultivate the berry in Southern California. He began selling the berries at his farm stand in 1932 and soon noticed that people kept returning to buy the large, tasty berries. When asked what they were called, Knott said, "Boysenberries", after their originator. His family's small restaurant and pie business eventually grew into Knott's Berry Farm. By 1940, of land in California were dedicated to boysenberries. The number dipped during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but peaked again in the 1950s at about , to the point where boysenberry crops exceeded those of the (previously) more common raspberry and blackberry. By the 1960s, the boysenberry began to fall out of favor due to a combination of being difficult to cultivate, susceptible to fungal diseases in coastal growing areas, and too soft and delicate to easily ship without damage, as well as having a short season of availability compared with newer cultivars. In the 1980s, breeding efforts in

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combined

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s and

germplasm Germplasm refers to genetic resources such as seeds, tissues, and DNA sequences that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, conservation efforts, agriculture, and other research uses. These resources may take the form of s ...

from California with Scottish sources to create five new thornless varieties. As of the early 2000s, fresh boysenberries were generally only grown for market by smaller California farmers and sold from local farm stands and markets. Most commercially grown boysenberries, primarily from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, are processed into other products such as jam, pie, juice, syrup, and ice cream. As of 2016, New Zealand was the world's largest producer and exporter of boysenberries.

Cultivars

Since 2007, a hybrid variety called the "Newberry" or "Ruby Boysen", was developed to overcome cultivation challenges that led to the decline in boysenberry popularity, and was marketed through farm markets and retailers in California. There is also a hybrid variety with marionberry called "Silvanberry" in Australia. Classed under the blackberry family, Silvanberry plants have many characteristics commonly found among other blackberry varieties. These plants are long living (15 to 20 years) perennials, hardy and cold tolerant, easy to grow, and productive spreaders.Silvanberry Planting – How To Grow Silvanberries
''Gardening Know How''. The 'Nectar' cultivar of boysenberry should not be confused with the nectarberry, '' Rubus arcticus'', a plant native to arctic swamps.

References

External links

* {{Hybrid Rubus Hybrid Rubus Berries Crops originating from North America Fruits originating in North America Agriculture in California Knott's Berry Farm Garden plants of North America History of Orange County, California