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Vaccinium myrtillus

Today, Vaccinium myrtillus is a topic of great relevance and interest to people around the world. Since its emergence, Vaccinium myrtillus has captured the attention of experts and fans alike, generating constant debate about its importance and impact on different areas of society. In this article, we will thoroughly explore the most relevant aspects of Vaccinium myrtillus, examining its history, its current implications and its possible evolution in the future. Through comprehensive analysis, we hope to provide our readers with a more complete view of this phenomenon and help them understand its true scope.

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Vaccinium myrtillus
By Amédée Masclef, published in Atlas des plantes de France, 1891
Secure
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Vaccinium
Subgenus: Vaccinium subg. Vaccinium
Section: Vaccinium sect. Myrtillus
Species:
V. myrtillus
Binomial name
Vaccinium myrtillus
L. 1753
Synonyms[2]
  • Myrtillus niger Gilib.
  • Myrtillus sylvaticus Drejer
  • Vaccinium oreophilum Rydb.
  • Vitis-idaea myrtillus (L.) Moench

Vaccinium myrtillus is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry.[3] It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortleberry to distinguish it from other Vaccinium relatives.

Description

Vaccinium myrtillus is a small deciduous shrub that grows 10–51 centimetres (4–20 in) tall, heavily branched with upright, angular to narrow winged, green-colored branches that are glabrous. It grows rhizomes, creating extensive patches. The shrub can live up to 30 years, with roots reaching depths of up to 1 metre (3+1⁄2 ft). It has light green leaves that turn red in autumn and are simple and alternate in arrangement.[4] The leaves are 1–3 cm (3⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) long and ovate to lanceolate or broadly elliptic in shape, with glandular to finely toothed margins;[4] they are prominently veined on the lower surface.[5] In winter, the foliage turns deep red and becomes deciduous.

Small, hermaphrodite flowers with thick stems (about 2–3 millimetres or 1⁄16–1⁄8 inch long) grow individually from the leaf axils and nod downward. These flowers, blooming from April to May, have crowns 4 to 6 mm long that are greenish to reddish. The small calyx is fused with minimal lobes on the cup-shaped flower. The rounded, urn-shaped, white-to-pink petals[5] have short, curved lobes. The 8–10 stamens are short, and the anthers are awned and horned. The four- or five-chambered ovary is inferior with a long style.

From July to September, the plants produce black-blue, flattened, round fruits with a diameter up to 1 cm.[5] These multi-seeded berries have calyx remnants on the tip and a blue-gray frosted appearance. Rarely, forms with white, yellow, red, or reddish-spotted berries occur. The small, brownish seeds are crescent-shaped. This species differs from V. corymbosum in that its anthocyanins, which produce color, are found in both the peel and the flesh. Its fruit persists for an average of 16.7 days, and bears an average of 25.3 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 85.4% water, and their dry weight includes 31.1% carbohydrates and 2.7% lipids.[6]

Chromosome count is 2n=24.[7][8]

  • Rhizomes
    Rhizomes
  • Flowers on inflorescens
    Flowers on inflorescens
  • Flower
    Flower
  • Flower cross-section
    Flower cross-section
  • Mature flowers
    Mature flowers
  • Fruits
    Fruits
  • Fruit close-up
    Fruit close-up
Fruit (top) showing red flesh compared to V. uliginosum (bottom)

Chemistry

Bilberry and the related V. uliginosum both produce lignins, in part because they are used as defensive chemicals.[9] Although many plants change their lignin production – usually to increase it – to handle the stresses of climate change, lignin levels of both Vaccinium species appear to be unaffected.[9] The leaves contain catechins, tannins, quinic acid, arbutin, chlorogenic acid, various glycosides, the fruits contain anthocyanins, pectin, ursolic acid, chlorogenic acid, and ascorbic acid.[10]

V. myrtillus contains a high concentration of triterpenes which remain under laboratory research for their possible biological effects.[11]

Names

The genus Vaccinium has at least three theories as to its origin.[12][13] It might be take from the Latin vacca for cow with the idea it was named for cows eating the bushes, but it may be from bacca the word for berry.[12] The third theory is that is derives from the genus Hyacinthus.[13] The species name refers to the resemblance of its leaves to that of common myrtle.[12]

The name bilberry is primarily applied to Vaccinium myrtillus,[14] but is also an alternate name for the genus Vaccinium as a whole.[15] The name bilberry appears to be an English borrowing from Old Norse being very similar to the Danish böllebær, used for the same plant.[14] The names whortleberry,[16] whortles,[17] and tracleberry,[12] are similarly generally applied to this species but are also sometimes used for other species or the genus.[12] The name huckleberry generally means species in the related genus Gaylussacia,[18] but is also sometimes used to mean V. myrtillus or other species of the blueberry genus.[12]

The names myrtille and myrtle whortleberry are preferred in Canada specifically mean this plant species.[19]

Regional names include blaeberry (in Scotland), braoileag (in Scottish Gaelic),[20] urts or hurts (Cornwall and Devon),[21] hurtleberry,[22] myrtleberry,[23] wimberry, whinberry,[24][25] winberry,[26] and fraughan.[27]

Distribution and habitat

Vaccinium myrtillus is a Holarctic species native to almost every country in Europe, north and central Asia, Japan, Greenland, Western Canada, and the Western United States. Within Europe it is only absent from Sardinia, Sicily, the European portion of Turkey, Crete, the Aegean Islands, Cyprus, Crimea, and southern European Russia.[28] It occurs in the acidic soils of heaths, boggy barrens, moorlands, degraded meadows, open forests at the base of pine and mountain spruce forest, and parklands, slopes, and moraines at elevations up to 2,350 m (7,710 ft).[29][30]

Toxicity

Consuming the leaves may be unsafe.[3]

Uses

Bilberries have dark red juice that stains hands.
Bilberries

Fruit

The berry is edible.[5] The fruits will stain hands, teeth and tongue deep blue or purple while eating and so it was traditionally used as a dye for food and clothes in Britain.[31]

Vaccinium myrtillus has been used for centuries in traditional medicine, particularly in traditional Austrian medicine as a tea or liqueur in attempts to treat various disorders.[32] Bilberry dietary supplements are marketed in the United States, although there is little evidence these products have any effect on health or diseases.[3]

In cooking, the bilberry fruit is commonly used for pies, tarts and flans, cakes, jams, muffins, cookies, sauces, syrups, juices, and candies.[3]

Although bilberries are in high demand by consumers in Northern Europe, the berries are harvested in the wild without any cultivation. Some authors state that opportunities exist to improve the crop if cultivated using common agricultural practices.[33]

Leaves

In traditional medicine, the (potentially toxic) leaves were mainly used for treating skin disorders.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ NatureServe (2024). "Vaccinium myrtillus". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  2. ^ Vaccinium myrtillus L. The Plant List
  3. ^ a b c d e "Bilberry". National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, US National Institutes of Health. 1 August 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Vaccinium myrtillus". www.fs.usda.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
  5. ^ a b c d Turner, Mark; Kuhlmann, Ellen (2014). Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest (1st ed.). Portland, OR: Timber Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-1-60469-263-1.
  6. ^ Ehrlén & Eriksson 1991.
  7. ^ Oberdorfer, Erich (2001). Pflanzensoziologische Exkursionsflora für Deutschland und angrenzende Gebiete (in German). Stuttgart: Ulmer. p. 732. ISBN 3-8001-3131-5.
  8. ^ "Bilberry". GDV. Retrieved 2024-07-08.
  9. ^ a b Bidart-Bouzat, M. Gabriela; Imeh-Nathaniel, Adebobola (2008). "Global Change Effects on Plant Chemical Defenses against Insect Herbivores". Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. 50 (11): 1339–1354. Bibcode:2008JIPB...50.1339B. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7909.2008.00751.x. ISSN 1672-9072. PMID 19017122.
  10. ^ "Vaccinium myrtillus". Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  11. ^ Szakiel, Anna; Pączkowski, Cezary; Pensec, Flora; Bertsch, Christophe (2012). "Fruit cuticular waxes as a source of biologically active triterpenoids". Phytochemistry Reviews. 11 (2–3): 263–284. Bibcode:2012PChRv..11..263S. doi:10.1007/s11101-012-9241-9. ISSN 1568-7767. PMC 3601259. PMID 23519009.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Small, Ernest; Catling, Paul M. (1999). Canadian Medicinal Crops. Ottawa: NRC Research Press. ISBN 978-0-660-17534-8. OCLC 70764249. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  13. ^ a b Hyam, Roger; Pankhurst, Richard J. (1995). Plants and Their Names: A Concise Dictionary. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press ; Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. p. 515. ISBN 978-0-19-866189-4. OCLC 30026609. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Bilberry, N.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/2755222901. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  15. ^ VASCAN; Acadia University; Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre; University of Toronto Mississauga; University of British Columbia (2025). "Vaccinium Linnaeus – Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)". Canadensys. Archived from the original on 15 February 2025. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Whortleberry, N.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1044047444. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  17. ^ "Whortle, N.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/2268755724. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  18. ^ "Huckleberry, N.". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/1042837581. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  19. ^ VASCAN; Acadia University; Université de Montréal Biodiversity Centre; University of Toronto Mississauga; University of British Columbia (2025). "Vaccinium myrtillus Linnaeus – Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN)". Canadensys. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  20. ^ Sinclair, Fiona (June 2001). "A site devoted to Vaccinium Myrtillus and the Scottish environment. Blaeberry in Scots, Braoileag in Gaelic, Vaccinium Myrtillus in Latin". Project Blaeberry, a site devoted to Vaccinium Myrtillus and the Scottish environment. Retrieved 2025-10-11.
  21. ^ Phillipps, K. C. (1993). A Glossary of the Cornish Dialect. Padstow: Tabb House. p. 57. ISBN 0-907018-91-2.
  22. ^ "Vaccinium myrtillus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 12 December 2017. citing Wiersema, J. H. & B. León (1999), World economic plants: a standard reference, and Huxley, A., ed. (1992), The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
  23. ^ "Bilberry, Blaeberry, Whortleberry, Whinberry, Windberry, Myrtle Berry, Vaccinium myrtillus". Wild Food UK. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  24. ^ "Whinberry Gin Liqueur". Kirkwood Distillery. Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  25. ^ "Whinberry Picking – 'A Cautionary Tale'". Bald Hiker.
  26. ^ Henley, Jon. Bilberries: the true taste of northern England, The Guardian, Monday 9 June 2008
  27. ^ "Fraughan is an anglicisation of the Irish word Fraochán (or heather fruit, as the plant is often found growing with heather)". téarma.ie.
  28. ^ "Vaccinium myrtillus L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Vaccinium myrtillus Linnaeus". Flora of North America. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  30. ^ "Vaccinium myrtillus L." USDA Plants Database. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  31. ^ "Make Traditional Dyes – Bilberry Dye". Barley Hall. York Archaeological Trust, Arts Council England and VisitEngland. Archived from the original on 2012-04-21.
  32. ^ Vogl S, Picker P, Mihaly-Bison J, Fakhrudin N, Atanasov AG, Heiss EH, Wawrosch C, Reznicek G, Dirsch VM, Saukel J, Kopp B (2013-03-25). "Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine--an unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs". J Ethnopharmacol. 149 (3): 750–71. doi:10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. PMC 3791396. PMID 23770053.
  33. ^ Nestby, Rolf; Percival, D.; Martinussen, Inger S.; Opstad, Nina; Rohloff, Jens (January 2011). "The European Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L .) and the Potential for Cultivation. A Review". The European Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology. S2CID 52997599.

Bibliography

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