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Cloudberry

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Cloudberry
From "Bilder ur Nordens Flora" (1917-1926)
From "Bilder ur Nordens Flora" (1917-1926)
Plant Info
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Rubus
Species: R. chamaemorus

Binomial name
Rubus chamaemorus
L.

The cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), also called bakeapple in Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island is a slow-growing alpine or sub-Arctic species of Rubus, producing amber-colored edible fruit. The botanical name (chamæmorus) derives from the Greek chamai ("dwarf") and morus ("mulberry"). Cloudberry is the name for both the plant and the fruit. Cloudberry should not be confused with salmonberry, although the fruit looks similar.

The cloudberry grows to 10-25 cm high. The leaves alternate between having 5 and 7 soft, handlike lobes on straight, branchless stalks. After pollination, the white (sometimes reddish-tipped) flowers form raspberry-sized berries. Encapsulating between 5 and 25 drupelets, each fruit is initially pale red, ripening into an amber colour in early autumn.

Distribution and ecology

Cloudberries occur naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere from 78°N, south to about 55°N, and very scattered south to 44°N mainly in mountainous areas. In Europe and Asia, they grow in the Nordic countries, especially in Finland; sometimes in the moorlands of Britain and Ireland, the Baltic states, and across northern Russia east to the Pacific Ocean. Small populations are also found further south, as a botanical vestige of the Ice Ages; it is found in Germany's Weser and Elbe valleys, where it is under legal protection. In North America, cloudberries grow wild across most of Canada / Alaska, and in the lower 48 states of the United States in northern Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine, and a small population on Long Island, New York.

It grows in bogs, marshes and wet meadows and requires sunny exposures in acidic ground (between 3.5 and 5 pH). The cloudberry can withstand cold temperatures down to well below -40°C, but is sensitive to salt and to dry conditions.

Cloudberry leaves are food for caterpillars of several Lepidoptera species. The moth Coleophora thulea has no other known foodplants. See also List of Lepidoptera which feed on Rubus.

Propagation

Unripe cloudberry
Ripe cloudberry

Unlike most Rubus species, the cloudberry does not self-pollinate. Pollination requires a plant of the opposite sex. Wide distribution occurs due to the opening of capsules by birds and animals and the excretion of the indigestible seeds. Further distribution arises through its rhizomes which can develop extensive berry patches. Cuttings of these taken in May or August is successful in producing a genetic clone of the parent plant.[1]

Cultivation

Despite its modern demand as a delicacy exceeding supply (particularly in Norway) the cloudberry is principally a wild plant. Wholesale prices vary widely based on the size of the yearly harvest, but can reach €10/kilo.[2]

Since the middle of the 1990s, however, the cloudberry has formed part of the "Northernberries" research project. The Norwegian government, in co-operation with Finnish, Swedish and Scottish counterparts, has vigorously pursued the aim of enabling commercial production of various wild berries (Norway imports 200 - 300 tonnes of cloudberries per year from Finland). Beginning in 2002, selected cultivars have been available to farmers, notably "Apolto" (male), "Fjellgull" (female) and "Fjordgull" (female). The cloudberry can be cultivated in Arctic areas where few other crops are possible, for example along the northern coast of Norway.

Uses

The ripe fruits are golden-yellow, soft and juicy, and are rich in vitamin C. When eaten fresh, cloudberries have a distinctive tart taste. When over-ripe, they have a creamy texture and flavor somewhat like yogurt. They are often made into jams, juices, tarts, and liqueurs. In Finland the berries are eaten with "Leipäjuusto" (a local cheese, the name translates to "bread-cheese"), and lots of cream and sugar. In Sweden, cloudberries are also used as ice cream topping. In Norway, they are eaten with whipped cream and lots of sugar, or in cakes that often contain marzipan. In Canada, cloudberries are used to flavour a special beer. Canadians also use them for jam, but not on the same scale as Scandinavians. In Alaska the berries are mixed with seal oil,reindeer or caribou fat (which is diced up and made fluffy with the seal oil) and sugar to make "Eskimo Ice Cream" or Agutuk.The recipes vary by region. Along the Yukon and Kuskokwim river areas white fish(pike,whitefish) along with Crisco and sugar is used. Due to its high vitamin C content, the berry is valued both by Nordic seafarers and by Canadian Inuit as protection against scurvy. Its high benzoic acid content acts as a natural preservative.

Tea made from cloudberry leaves was used in ancient Scandinavian herbal medicine to cure urinary tract infections.

Alcoholic drinks

In Nordic countries traditionally liquers such as Lakkalikööri (a Finnish liquer) are made of cloudberry. It has a strong taste and a high sugar content. Cloudberry has also served as a spice for aquavit.

Dogfish Head Brewery has made an Arctic Cloudberry Imperial Wheat beer, which was inspired by the cloudberry lambic dubbed Soleil de Minuit made by Brasserie Cantillon for the Akkurat pub in Stockholm.

Makeup

Lumene, a Finnish makeup company has released makeup in the United States that contains cloudberry oil and comes in small plastic capsules resembling cloudberry segments.

Other names

Other names for the cloudberry include:

File:Eurocoins nat finland.s02 200.jpg
The national side of a Finnish €2 coin

Trivia

The Norwegian municipality of Nesseby has a cloudberry in its coat-of-arms. The cloudberry fruit and leaves are also displayed on the national side of the Finnish €2 coins.

References

  1. ↑ K. Rapp (1986). "Vegetativ oppformering av molte (Rubus chamaemorus L.)". Jord og Myr 10: 1-11. 
  2. ↑ "Record Cloudberry Crop Lures Thousands of Finns to Lapland Bogs". Retrieved on 2006-05-24.

External links

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