Standardized Common
Name: Bilberry
Other Common Names: Dwarf Bilberry,
European Blueberry, Huckleberry, Mountain Bilberry, Whortleberry
Family: Ericaceae
Taxonomy: Vaccinium
includes about 450 woody species, found almost worldwide and in a variety of
habitats. Many have edible fruits. Vaccinium myrtillis is widely
distributed in northern Eurasia, with disjunct populations in western North
America; it is one of 8 species native to Europe. It is classified within Sect.
Myrtillus, most species of which are North American. Hybridization with V.
vitis-idaea L. (Lingonberry) occurs, although the two species are not
considered to be closely related.
Description: Rhizomatous colonial
shrub; stems erect, to 45(–60) cm high, branching; young twigs 3-angled, wiry,
green. Leaves deciduous, alternate, sessile, ovate to elliptical, (10–)19–30 mm
long, 6–11(–18) mm broad, thick-textured; apex broadly acute to obtuse; base
rounded; margins shallowly serrate; lower surface glandular-pubescent. Flowers
axillary, single or sometimes paired, pedicellate. Calyx fused into small cup
appearing continuous with pedicel, with (4–)5 tiny lobes or wavy margin;
corolla greenish pink to whitish and waxy, fused into globose tube 3–6 mm long
with small mouth bearing (4–)5 tiny lobes; stamens (8–)10, filaments glabrous;
ovary inferior. Fruit a berry, globose with flattened apex, purplish black,
sometimes glaucous, (6–)7–9(–10) mm in diameter, (4–)5-loculed; mature seeds
several to 30 or more, ca. 1 mm long.
Parts
in Commerce:
Fruit or leaves
Identification:
Fruit
- Fleshy berry,
bluish or purplish black at maturity, occasionally waxy
- 6–10 mm in
diameter, globose
- Apex flattened,
with large round scar marking attachment of floral parts
- Flesh purplish
- Locules (4–)5,
developed seeds usually 10–30; small undeveloped seeds also present
- Seeds ca. 1 mm
long, somewhat asymmetrical, one side flattened, with raised netted
ornamentation
- Taste slightly
acid but sweet
Leaves
- Ovate to
elliptical, (1–)2–3 cm long, mostly <12(–18) mm broad
- Texture more or
less leathery
- Base rounded;
petiole very short to absent
- Apex broadly
acute to obtuse
- Margin shallowly
serrate with several teeth per side; teeth bearing stalked glands, not revolute
- Venation with
conspicuous midrib; secondary veins weak, straight, terminating before
margins and their ends connected by curved veins that form a scalloped
line inside margins; higher-order venation netted
- Lower surface
green, glandular-pubescent, without prominent black projections
- Taste weakly
bitter, astringent
Adulterants: Vaccinium
uliginosum L., also called bilberry or alpine or bog bilberry, is reported
as an adulterant of the fruit. The fruit is blue to blue-black and waxy; it is
slightly smaller, 6–8 mm in diameter, usually with 4 locules and 6–18 maturing
seeds. Leaves are also smaller than typical of V. myrtillus and have
entire margins and pale waxy undersides; they may be broadly obovate to nearly
round, with rounded apices and broadly tapering bases. Other species previously
reported as contaminants of the leaves can be distinguished by absence of the
positive characters mentioned.
References:
Popova TN. Vaccinium. In: Tutin TG, Heywood VH, Burges NA, et al.,
eds. Flora Europaea. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press; 1972:12–13.
Vander Kloet SP. The Genus Vaccinium in
North America. Ottawa: Research Branch, Agriculture Canada; 1988.
Vander Kloet SP, Dickinson TA. The taxonomy of Vaccinium
section Myrtillus (Ericaceae). Brittonia. 1999;51:231–254.
Wichtl M, ed. Herbal Drugs and
Phytopharmaceuticals, 3rd English
ed. Stuttgart: medpharm Scientific Publishers and Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press;
2004:407–413.
