Popenoe: The Colombian Blackberry 
descent of the pefion into the valley of 
the Rio Barroblanco. This leaves a 
zone about one mile in width, in which 
the plant is found—a zone on the upper 
edge of the escarpment, but not extend- 
ing across the mountain tops onto the 
slope toward the sabana. The region 
is one of peculiar climatic conditions: 
it is that upon which the clouds drifting 
up from the lowlands of the Magdalena 
valley impinge and frequently precipi- 
tate their moisture, and it is thus kept 
cool and wet throughout most of the 
year. It is a region characterized by 
tree-ferns, bamboo, begonias, several 
melastomaceous and ericaceous shrubs, 
Drimys granatensis, one or two species 
of Berberis, and several species of 
Rubus which sometimes cover the 
ground over areas an acre or more in 
extent. 
EXTENT OF RANGE NOT KNOWN 
Elsewhere in Cundinamarca I have 
seen the plant, or learned of its exis- 
tence, only on the western or south- 
western slope of the range which rises 
from the western edge of the sabana of 
Bogota and falls away toward the 
Magdalena valley. Mr. Rockwood has 
recently reported the plant from Dentel, 
north of Facatativa. So far as I have 
observed, it is found only at elevations 
between 8,000 and 10,000 feet; further 
observations may, and probably will, 
extend this range. 
SPECIES PROBABLY Rubus roseus 
Botanically I have not been able to 
determine the species. No one in 
Bogota with whom I have talked is 
familiar with the botany of this genus, 
and none of the local botanical works 
to which I have had access describe a 
plant which I can identify as this 
species. The characters of the plant 
seem to agree with those attributed to 
Rubus roseus in a key to the Central 
ard South American species of Rubus 
which has been sent me by George M. 
Darrow. They also agree rather closely 
with those of Rubus macrocarpus, 
except that the latter is many-flowered, 
197 
and I do not think this can be said of 
the plant in question. Rubus roseus, 
on the other hand, is said to produce 
few flowers; its fruit is described as 
“‘purple,’’ which is not exactly true of 
the Colombian Giant Blackberry; yet 
it would be easy for a slight mistake to 
be made in this matter, and it seems to 
me on the whole that the characters of 
Rubus roseus, as given in the key, are 
those of the plant under consideration. 
The popular nomenclature of the 
different species of Rubus in the 
Bogota region is limited to a few terms 
applied rather loosely. In general, all 
of the species which produce fruits of 
blackberry character are termed mora, 
the correct name in Spanish for the 
mulberry (Morus nigra) and also for 
the fruit of the cultivated blackberry. 
One or more species whose fruits have 
large, hard seeds are termed mora de 
poedra, or stone-blackberry, because 
(I take it) their seeds are like small 
stones (though one Colombian told me 
it was because they grow in stony 
places, which is not commonly a fact). 
Several species whose fruits are of good 
quality for eating, and are sold in the 
markets of Bogota and other cities, are 
called mora de Castilla, or blackberry 
of Castile (Spain). The phrase de 
Castilla is applied in Cundinamarca to 
various products of the country; thus 
there is a curuba de Castilla (Tacsonia 
mollissima), no more a native of Spain 
than the various species of Rubus to 
which the term is applied. The phrase 
de Castilla may, in fact, be taken to 
mean that the product is one of the 
best of its class. It is undoubtedly a 
heritage from Colonial days, when the 
best of everything was supposed to 
come from the Mother Country. 
The Giant Blackberry is termed by 
natives of the Penon section mora, and 
mora alone; though when pressed for a 
more specific name they will sometimes 
say it is a mora de Castilla, i.e.,. a good 
mora. In Bogota the fruit is often 
termed mora de Castilla, but this name 
is applied to at least two other species 
which are more common in the market 
than the one under consideration. 
