How is the black raspberry different from other Rubus species?
Often called “blackcaps” by berry farmers, black raspberries are the smallest and bluest of the Rubus berries. Scientific assays of blackcap phytochemicals reveal the densest and most avid pigmentation among North American plants—so strong that the US Department of Agriculture used black raspberry juice as stamp dye on meats for several decades. Scientific tests have described blackcaps with the richest contents of pigment antioxidants among North American berries (as described further below).
