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The giant Colombian blackberry, one of the biggest berries in the world, is almost too large to be taken in a single mouthful. (Wilson Popenoe ^© 1926 National Geographic Society)

crimson to nearly black in color, acid to sweet in flavor, and similar to cultivated raspberries in size and taste. They are eaten fresh, as juice, or made into preserves, wine, and aguardiente.

The plant ⁵ grows wild at an elevation of 2,800 m in Bolivia, 3,000–3,700 m in Ecuador. So far, it has not been cultivated.

Mora Común. Most of the berry fruits in the highlands of tropical America are produced by Rubus adenotrichus, the most common species from Mexico to Ecuador. It is seldom cultivated, but the fruits of wild plants are collected and sold in the markets for the preparation of jellies, refreshments, and even wine. The plant is characterized by the long, reddish, glandular hairs that cover the branches. The fruits are red, conic, compact, and up to 2 cm long; in quality they are inferior to R. glauca, but the plant yields more and is more resistant and adaptable to different conditions. Because of its wide variability, it offers the possibility that major improvements can be made merely through the selection of superior clones.