Tropical Plant "Wild blackberry"
Rubus sellowii

Characteristics - The wild blackberry is a fruit bearer not under cultivation in the country, however it is frequent in its natural habitat, along the edges of forests and brushy areas, mainly in high-altitude regions from Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo to Rio Grande do Sul. It is a shrub, semi-deciduous, spinescent with scandent limbs, vilose with rarely occuring glandular trichomes, 0.8-2.5 m long, with internodes of 3-6 cm and aculei (prickles) 1-3 mm long. Leaves compound, 3-5 digitate, with leaflets, subcoriaceous, opaque, 4-7 cm long with linear stipules of 3-10 mm and a petiole of 1.5-4.0 cm. Flowers white, arranged on terminal panicles of 5-20 cm, form from January to March. Fruits aggregate, globose, with a carnose fruit receptacle, initially red turning black with an acidic flavor, somewhat astringent; they ripen from March to May.

Uses - The fruits are consumed in their natural state and made into sweets and jellies.

Propagation - Propagated by seeds.