Vaccinium myrtillus

Vaccinium myrtillus
ByAmédée Masclef,published inAtlas des plantes de France,1891
Conservation status
Secure(NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Vaccinium
Section:	Vacciniumsect.Myrtillus
Species:	V. myrtillus
Binomial name
Vaccinium myrtillus L.1753
Synonyms
Myrtillus nigerGilib. Myrtillus sylvaticusDrejer Vaccinium oreophilumRydb. Vitis-idaea myrtillus(L.) Moench

Vaccinium myrtillusorEuropean blueberryis aholarcticspecies ofshrubwith edible fruit of blue color, known by the common namesbilberry,blaeberry,wimberry,andwhortleberry.It is more precisely calledcommon bilberryorblue whortleberryto distinguish it from otherVacciniumrelatives.

Description

Vaccinium myrtillusis a small deciduous shrub that grows 4–20 in (10–51 cm) 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 meter. It has light green leaves that turn red in autumn and are simple and alternate in arrangement.Leaves are 0.4–1.2 in (1.0–3.0 cm) long and ovate to lanceolate or broadly elliptic in shape, with glandular to finely toothed margins.In winter, its foliage turns deep red and becomes deciduous.

Small, hermaphrodite flowers with thick stems 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 petals 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 maximum diameter of 1 centimeter. 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 the American blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) in that its anthocyanins, which produce color, are found in both the peel and the flesh.

Chromosome count is 2n=24.

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  Rhizomes
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  Flowers on inflorescens
• 
  flower
• 
  Flower cross section
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  Mature Flowers
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  Fruits
• 
  Fruit cross section showing red flesh(above) compared toVaccinium uliginosum(below)

Common names

Regional names includeblaeberry(Scotland),urtsorhurts(Cornwall and Devon),hurtleberry,myrtleberry,wimberry,whinberry,winberry,andfraughan.

Distribution and habitat

Vaccinium myrtillusis aHolarcticspecies native to almost every country inEurope,north and central Asia, Japan, Greenland, Western Canada, and the Western United States. Within Europe it is only absent fromSardinia,Sicily,the European portion ofTurkey,Crete,theAegean Islands,Cyprus,Crimea,and southernEuropean Russia.It occurs in the acidic soils ofheaths,boggybarrens,moorlands,degraded meadows, open forests at the base of pine and mountain spruce forest, and parklands, slopes, andmorainesat elevations up to 2350 meters.

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  Habitat in the Spandau Forest, Germany
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  Habitat in the understory of the pine forest of Czermnica, NW Poland
• 
  habitat near "Alpe Tre Potenze" Apennine Mountains, Italy

Uses

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on2–3 millimetres (5⁄64–1⁄8in) long pedicels. Thecorollais pink and shaped like an urn. The leaves are finely toothed and prominently veined on the lower surface.

The fruits will stain hands, teeth and tongue deep blue or purple while eating and so it was traditionally used as adyefor food and clothes in Britain.

Bilberries

Fruit

Vaccinium myrtillushas been used for centuries intraditional medicine,particularly in traditionalAustrianmedicine as a tea or liqueur in attempts to treat various disorders.Bilberrydietary supplementsare marketed in the United States, although there is little evidence these products have any effect on health or diseases.

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

Leaves

In traditional medicine, bilberry leaves were used mainly for treating skin disorders.Consuming the leaves may be unsafe.

Harvesting

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.

Bilberries have dark red juice that stains hands

Chemistry

Bilberry and the relatedV. uliginosumboth producelignins,in part because they are used asdefensive chemicals.Although many plants change their lignin production – usually to increase it – to handle the stresses ofclimate change,lignin levels of bothVacciniumspecies appear to be unaffected.The leaves contain catechins, tannins, quinic acid, arbutin, chlorogenic acid, various glycosides, the fruits contain anthocyanins, pectin, ursolic acid, chlorogenic acid, ascorbic acid.

V. myrtilluscontains a high concentration oftriterpeneswhich remain under laboratory research for their possible biological effects.

See also

• Blaeberry River
• Mahonia aquifolium(Oregon grape)
• Myrtus

External links

• United States Department of Agriculture plants profile-Vaccinium myrtillus