Vaccinium myrtillus

Vaccinium myrtillus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Vaccinium
Species:	V. myrtillus
Binomial name
Vaccinium myrtillus L.

Vaccinium myrtillus is an almost Holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, in the USA referred to as "bilberry", "whortleberry" or "European blueberry", while in the rest of the world called by names which mean "blueberry" (for example Blåbær or Blaubeere). It is more precisely called Common Bilberry or Blue Whortleberry, to distinguish it from its Vaccinium relatives. Other American regional names include Blaeberry, Fraughan and Hurtleberry.

Vaccinium myrtillus was voted the County flower of Leeds in 2002 following a poll by the wild plant conservation charity Plantlife.

Range

Vaccinium myrtillus is found in Europe, northern Asia, Greenland, Western Canada, and the Western United States. It is one of the wild origins and predecessors of the American blueberry, it is longer known and used in the entire world outside of Northern America.

Uses

Fruit

Vaccinium myrtillus has been used for nearly 1,000 years in traditional European medicine. Herbal supplements of V. myrtillus (bilberry) on the market are used for circulatory problems, as vision aids, and to treat diarrhea and other conditions.

In cooking, the bilberry fruit is commonly used for the same purposes as the American blueberry: pies, cakes, jams, muffins, cookies, sauces, syrups, juices, candies and so on. Since bilberries are more fragrant, and have more concentrated flavor and vitamins (like all more natural wild fruit varieties), they are especially well suited for making cough syrups and bilberry wine.

Leaf

Bilberry leaf is used for different conditions, including diabetes. It is used as a medicinal plant.

Confusion between bilberries and American blueberries

Bilberries (shown here) and American blueberries are nearly identical, and used for the same purposes.

Since most people in the world refer to "blueberries", no matter if they mean the European blueberry Vaccinium myrtillus or the American blueberry Vaccinium cyanococcus, there is a lot of confusion about the two nearly identical fruit worldwide. One can distinguish bilberries or European blueberries from their American counterpart by the following differences: bilberries have dark blue, strongly fragrant flesh, while American blueberries have white or translucent, mildly fragrant flesh; the bilberries grow as single fruit on low bushes, usually wild in woods of the Northern Hemisphere, but American blueberries grow in highbush form of several fruit at once; the bilberries are a wild natural variety common since at least 1000 years - the American blueberries are hybrid cultivars, developed about 100 years ago by agricultural specialists, most prominently by Elizabeth Coleman White, to meet growing consumer demand, since they are bigger, the bushes grow taller, and are easier to harvest; the bilberry fruit has natural coloring properties, it is easily distinguished by coloring the hands, teeth and tongue deep blue or purple while eating, it was also partially used as natural coloring for food and even clothes, and American blueberries were especially grown to not to cause customer complaints due to this strong coloring, so the blue color is less present, and only in the skin of the fruit.

Adding to the confusion is the fact there are also wild American varieties of the species Vaccinium angustifolium, called commonly lowbush blueberries, sold in stores mainly in the USA and Canada as "wild" blueberries. Those are uncommon outside of Northern America, where either American or the European blueberries are prevalent.

See also

• Blueberry
• Huckleberry
• Vaccinium

References

• Jepson Interchange Taxon Report - historical

External links

• USDA Treatment - Vaccinium myrtillus
• U.S. National Institute of Health: Bilberry webpage
• Vaccinium myrtillus in Plantarium Database - A Photo Guide.