Grapes of concord

Grape breeders in the US are making hybrids between Vitis labrusca, a species native to the eastern US best known for the Concord variety, and Vitis vinifera, the European grape, in an effort to get the best of both worlds:

By putting in up to 28,000 seedlings yearly, however, Mr. Cain said he hopes to find marketable varieties, maybe from vines planted last year. He also wants varieties that look distinctive, like elongated grapes, to let consumers know they’re something special. “Combining Eastern and Western grapes in California is like bringing some of the best musicians in the world together on the stage,” Mr. Clark said. “Now let’s see what they’re going to play.”

Offhand, I can’t think of another example of an important crop with easily crossable congeneric species endemic to the Old and New Worlds, as is the case with Vitis. But I could be wrong…

LATER: What an idiot, there’s cotton, strawberry, lupins…