Raspberry or red raspberry is the common term for the plant Rubus idaeus in the rose family (Rosaceae). The term is also applied to the edible fruit of this plant, which is a tart, sweet, red composite fruit that in proper botanical language is not a berry at all, but instead an aggregate fruit of numerous drupelets around a central core. In raspberries and other species of the subgenus Idaeobatus, the drupelets separate from the core when picked, leaving a hollow fruit, whereas in blackberries the drupelets stay attached to the core.
The term raspberry is not restricted only to Rubus idaeus but is also applied to a number of other shrubby, prickly plants in the Rubus genus.
The flower and fruit of the raspberry, which are important for the raspberry's individual purpose of reproduction, also provide larger values for the ecosystem and for human beings. Ecologically, the raspberry flower is a nectar source for honeybees, and the fruit is consumed by numerous animals.
For humans, the fruit is popular not only for its pleasing taste, color, and texture, but also offers nutritional and medicinal values. It sometimes has been called a "women's herb" for its aid to women during pregnancy and with their menstrual cycles, but it also has been used to address gastrointestinal disorders and mouth and throat sores, and has been considered helpful in preventing cancer and assisting people with diabetes.