There is a black strain of raspberry plant that grows wild. Your close-up picture of the green ones do look like blackberry's though. Perhaps this will help.
From a senior naturalist, David H Thompson, Quote "The easiest way to tell black raspberries and blackberries apart is by the berries and the canes. As they mature, the fruits of both change color from green to red to deep purplish black. However, the ripe raspberry is a cup that slips from a central knob or core. In the blackberry the core is part of the ripe fruit. The cross-section of a blackberry cane is a five-pointed star. The raspberry's is circular. Also, the latter is dusted with a silvery powder that rubs off with the touch of a finger." Unquote. Here is a good video of some differences as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR6EQ6Hv5Y4&feature=user
I noticed a few ripe blackberry's while out golfing the other day. These were the small
vine variety. Sometimes called dewberry.
The
bush blackberry's that grow in wild abundance along roadsides, ditches, etc, are just finishing flowering, and should be ready mid-August to harvest. These are the ones that are locally sought after. We usually get several buckets full for jams, jelly's, and freezing for pie making, etc.. You can sure get scarred up picking these babys, as they have the huge, numerous thorns. They stem from the rose family, so I guess that figures.
People are pretty secretive about the good patch's of these. The roadside patch's are usually picked over pretty quick.
