Hello! I was hiking this weekend (Sept 12) in the Cascade mountains between 5000 and 7000 feet, and ran across this tiny berry. At first I thought it was a strawberry, as it seemed to grow by extensions across the ground, but the berries made me think again. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of the berries - just the leaves, but they reminded me most of single drupelets of a Rubus genus, though some grew in doublets or triplets. They were bright red and about 5mm or a quarter inch, oblong. They were growing prolifically by trailers along the ground, never reaching more than a couple of inches off the ground. They seemed to like the soft pine needle beds along the trail. I am curious about the plant - what is it, where does it grow, would it make good ground cover and is it edible? I must admit I tasted one of the tiny fruits and it was much like a thimbleberry in taste. Here is a picture - thanks for any help!
Thanks, that was very speedy! Just for future people, if they have the same question, this is Rubus pedatus, or the strawberryleaf raspberry. Which makes total sense, since I thought initially it was a strawberry, but on closer look, seemed to be raspberry-ish. Thanks again for the speedy response!
