7,617
edits
Changes
no edit summary
{{otheruses}}
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Bilberry
| image = Vaccinum myrtillus 020503.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Bilberry in flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Ericaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Vaccinium]]''
| species = '''''V. myrtillus'''''
| binomial = ''Vaccinium myrtillus''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''Bilberry''' is a name given to several species of low-growing [[shrub]]s in the [[genus]] ''[[Vaccinium]]'' (family [[Ericaceae]]) that bear tasty [[false berry|fruit]]s. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' L., also known as blaeberry, whortleberry, whinberry (or winberry), myrtle [[blueberry]], fraughan, and probably other names regionally. They were called black-hearts in 19th century southern England, according to [[Thomas Hardy]]'s 1878 novel, ''[[The Return of the Native]],'' (pg. 311, ''Oxford World's Classics'' edition).
[[Image:Blaeberry.jpeg|left|thumb|Bilberry fruit]]
The word bilberry is also sometimes used in the common names of other species of the genus, including ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' L. (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, bog whortleberry, bog huckleberry, northern bilberry), ''Vaccinium caespitosum'' Michx. (dwarf bilberry), ''Vaccinium deliciosum'' Piper (Cascade bilberry), ''Vaccinium membranaceum'' (mountain bilberry, black mountain huckleberry, black huckleberry, twin-leaved huckleberry), and ''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' (oval-leafed blueberry, oval-leaved bilberry, mountain blueberry, high-bush blueberry).
Bilberries are found in damp, [[acid]]ic [[soil]]s throughout the [[temperate]] and [[subarctic]] regions of the world. They are closely related to [[North America]]n wild and cultivated [[blueberry|blueberries]] and [[huckleberry|huckleberries]] in the genus ''Vaccinium''. The easiest way to distinguish the bilberry is that it produces single or pairs of berries on the bush instead of clusters like the blueberry. Another way to distinguish them is that while blueberry fruit meat is light green, bilberry is red or purple. In this way you can also distinguish the bilberry eater from the blueberry eater by his red fingers and lips. Bilberry is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species - see [[list of Lepidoptera which feed on Vaccinium]].
Bilberries are rarely cultivated but fruits are sometimes collected from wild plants growing on publicly accessible lands, notably in [[Fennoscandia]], [[Scotland]], [[Ireland]] and [[Poland]]. Notice that in Fennoscandia, it is an [[everyman's right]] to collect bilberries, irrespective of land ownership. In Ireland the fruit is known as ''fraughan'' in English, from the [[Irish Gaelic|Irish]] ''fraochán'', and is traditionally gathered on the last Sunday in July, known as ''Fraughan Sunday''.
Bilberries were also collected at [[Lughnassadh]] in August, the first traditional harvest festival of the year, as celebrated by the Gaelic people. The crop of bilberries was said to indicate how well the rest of the crops would fare in their harvests later in the year.
The fruits can be eaten fresh, but are more usually made into [[jam]]s, [[fruit fool|fool]]s, [[juice]]s or [[pie]]s. In [[French cuisine|France]] they are used as a base for [[liqueur]]s and are a popular flavouring for [[sorbet]]s and other desserts. In [[Brittany]] they are often used as a flavouring for [[crêpe]]s, and in the [[Vosges]] and the [[Massif Central]] bilberry tart (''tarte aux myrtilles'') is the most traditional dessert.
== Medicinal uses ==
[[image:The_fruits_of_our_labour.JPG|left|thumb|Bilberry fruit]]
Often associated with improvement of [[night vision]], bilberries are mentioned in a popular story of [[World War II]] [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] pilots consuming bilberry jam to sharpen vision for night missions. However, a recent study<ref>Muth ER, Laurent JM, Jasper P. The effect of bilberry nutritional supplementation on night visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Altern Med Rev. 2000 Apr;5(2):164-73.
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=10767671 Abstract.]</ref> by the [[U.S. Navy]] found no such effect and origins of the RAF story cannot be found<ref>[http://www.webmd.com/content/article/11/1668_50777.htm] Bilberry Bombs, WebMD, October 2000</ref>.
Laboratory studies have shown that bilberry consumption can inhibit or reverse eye disorders such as [[macular degeneration]]<ref>Fursova AZh, Gesarevich OG, Gonchar AM, Trofimova NA, Kolosova NG. Dietary supplementation with bilberry extract prevents macular degeneration and cataracts in senesce-accelerated OXYS rats. Adv Gerontol. 2005;16:76-9. (Article in Russian). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16075680 Abstract.]</ref>, but this therapeutic use remains clinically unproven.
As a deep blue fruit, bilberries contain dense levels of [[anthocyanin]] [[pigment]]s that have been linked experimentally to lowered risk for several diseases<ref>[http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=18944&zoneid=201] Gross PM. Scientists zero in on health benefits of berry pigments, ''Natural Products Information Center'', July 2007</ref>, such as those of the [[heart]] and [[cardiovascular]] system, [[eyes]] and [[cancer]]<ref>Bell DR, Gochenaur K. Direct vasoactive and vasoprotective properties of anthocyanin-rich extracts.
J Appl Physiol. 2006 Apr;100(4):1164-70. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16339348 Abstract.]</ref><ref>Chung HK, Choi SM, Ahn BO, Kwak HH, Kim JH, Kim WB. Efficacy of troxerutin on streptozotocin-induced rat model in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy. Arzneimittelforschung. 2005;55(10):573-80. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16294503 Abstract.]</ref><ref>Roy S, Khanna S, Alessio HM, Vider J, Bagchi D, Bagchi M, Sen CK. Anti-angiogenic property of edible berries. Free Radic Res. 2002 Sep;36(9):1023-31.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12448828 Abstract.]</ref>.
In [[folk medicine]], bilberry leaves were used to treat [[Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal]] ailments, applied topically or made into infusions. Such effects have not been proved scientifically.
[[Image:Norwegian blueberries.jpg|thumb|Wild bilberries collected in [[Norway]].]]
==References==
<references />
== External links ==
{{commons|Vaccinium myrtillus|Bilberry}}
*[http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.blaeberry.html Species profile: Blaeberry]
*[http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/bilberry.html Bilberry and Herbal Medicine]
*[http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/erica/vacci/vaccmyrv.jpg Den virtuelle floran - Distribution]
==See also==
*[[List of fruits]]
*[[List of vegetables]]
[[Category:Ericaceae]]
[[Category:Alpine flora]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Greenland]]
[[Category:Flora of Estonia]]
[[Category:Flora of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Flora of Idaho]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Bilberry
| image = Vaccinum myrtillus 020503.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Bilberry in flower
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Ericaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Vaccinium]]''
| species = '''''V. myrtillus'''''
| binomial = ''Vaccinium myrtillus''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
'''Bilberry''' is a name given to several species of low-growing [[shrub]]s in the [[genus]] ''[[Vaccinium]]'' (family [[Ericaceae]]) that bear tasty [[false berry|fruit]]s. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' L., also known as blaeberry, whortleberry, whinberry (or winberry), myrtle [[blueberry]], fraughan, and probably other names regionally. They were called black-hearts in 19th century southern England, according to [[Thomas Hardy]]'s 1878 novel, ''[[The Return of the Native]],'' (pg. 311, ''Oxford World's Classics'' edition).
[[Image:Blaeberry.jpeg|left|thumb|Bilberry fruit]]
The word bilberry is also sometimes used in the common names of other species of the genus, including ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' L. (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, bog whortleberry, bog huckleberry, northern bilberry), ''Vaccinium caespitosum'' Michx. (dwarf bilberry), ''Vaccinium deliciosum'' Piper (Cascade bilberry), ''Vaccinium membranaceum'' (mountain bilberry, black mountain huckleberry, black huckleberry, twin-leaved huckleberry), and ''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' (oval-leafed blueberry, oval-leaved bilberry, mountain blueberry, high-bush blueberry).
Bilberries are found in damp, [[acid]]ic [[soil]]s throughout the [[temperate]] and [[subarctic]] regions of the world. They are closely related to [[North America]]n wild and cultivated [[blueberry|blueberries]] and [[huckleberry|huckleberries]] in the genus ''Vaccinium''. The easiest way to distinguish the bilberry is that it produces single or pairs of berries on the bush instead of clusters like the blueberry. Another way to distinguish them is that while blueberry fruit meat is light green, bilberry is red or purple. In this way you can also distinguish the bilberry eater from the blueberry eater by his red fingers and lips. Bilberry is used as a food plant by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species - see [[list of Lepidoptera which feed on Vaccinium]].
Bilberries are rarely cultivated but fruits are sometimes collected from wild plants growing on publicly accessible lands, notably in [[Fennoscandia]], [[Scotland]], [[Ireland]] and [[Poland]]. Notice that in Fennoscandia, it is an [[everyman's right]] to collect bilberries, irrespective of land ownership. In Ireland the fruit is known as ''fraughan'' in English, from the [[Irish Gaelic|Irish]] ''fraochán'', and is traditionally gathered on the last Sunday in July, known as ''Fraughan Sunday''.
Bilberries were also collected at [[Lughnassadh]] in August, the first traditional harvest festival of the year, as celebrated by the Gaelic people. The crop of bilberries was said to indicate how well the rest of the crops would fare in their harvests later in the year.
The fruits can be eaten fresh, but are more usually made into [[jam]]s, [[fruit fool|fool]]s, [[juice]]s or [[pie]]s. In [[French cuisine|France]] they are used as a base for [[liqueur]]s and are a popular flavouring for [[sorbet]]s and other desserts. In [[Brittany]] they are often used as a flavouring for [[crêpe]]s, and in the [[Vosges]] and the [[Massif Central]] bilberry tart (''tarte aux myrtilles'') is the most traditional dessert.
== Medicinal uses ==
[[image:The_fruits_of_our_labour.JPG|left|thumb|Bilberry fruit]]
Often associated with improvement of [[night vision]], bilberries are mentioned in a popular story of [[World War II]] [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] pilots consuming bilberry jam to sharpen vision for night missions. However, a recent study<ref>Muth ER, Laurent JM, Jasper P. The effect of bilberry nutritional supplementation on night visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. Altern Med Rev. 2000 Apr;5(2):164-73.
[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=10767671 Abstract.]</ref> by the [[U.S. Navy]] found no such effect and origins of the RAF story cannot be found<ref>[http://www.webmd.com/content/article/11/1668_50777.htm] Bilberry Bombs, WebMD, October 2000</ref>.
Laboratory studies have shown that bilberry consumption can inhibit or reverse eye disorders such as [[macular degeneration]]<ref>Fursova AZh, Gesarevich OG, Gonchar AM, Trofimova NA, Kolosova NG. Dietary supplementation with bilberry extract prevents macular degeneration and cataracts in senesce-accelerated OXYS rats. Adv Gerontol. 2005;16:76-9. (Article in Russian). [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16075680 Abstract.]</ref>, but this therapeutic use remains clinically unproven.
As a deep blue fruit, bilberries contain dense levels of [[anthocyanin]] [[pigment]]s that have been linked experimentally to lowered risk for several diseases<ref>[http://www.npicenter.com/anm/templates/newsATemp.aspx?articleid=18944&zoneid=201] Gross PM. Scientists zero in on health benefits of berry pigments, ''Natural Products Information Center'', July 2007</ref>, such as those of the [[heart]] and [[cardiovascular]] system, [[eyes]] and [[cancer]]<ref>Bell DR, Gochenaur K. Direct vasoactive and vasoprotective properties of anthocyanin-rich extracts.
J Appl Physiol. 2006 Apr;100(4):1164-70. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16339348 Abstract.]</ref><ref>Chung HK, Choi SM, Ahn BO, Kwak HH, Kim JH, Kim WB. Efficacy of troxerutin on streptozotocin-induced rat model in the early stage of diabetic retinopathy. Arzneimittelforschung. 2005;55(10):573-80. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=16294503 Abstract.]</ref><ref>Roy S, Khanna S, Alessio HM, Vider J, Bagchi D, Bagchi M, Sen CK. Anti-angiogenic property of edible berries. Free Radic Res. 2002 Sep;36(9):1023-31.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=12448828 Abstract.]</ref>.
In [[folk medicine]], bilberry leaves were used to treat [[Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal]] ailments, applied topically or made into infusions. Such effects have not been proved scientifically.
[[Image:Norwegian blueberries.jpg|thumb|Wild bilberries collected in [[Norway]].]]
==References==
<references />
== External links ==
{{commons|Vaccinium myrtillus|Bilberry}}
*[http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.blaeberry.html Species profile: Blaeberry]
*[http://www.stevenfoster.com/education/monograph/bilberry.html Bilberry and Herbal Medicine]
*[http://linnaeus.nrm.se/flora/di/erica/vacci/vaccmyrv.jpg Den virtuelle floran - Distribution]
==See also==
*[[List of fruits]]
*[[List of vegetables]]
[[Category:Ericaceae]]
[[Category:Alpine flora]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Greenland]]
[[Category:Flora of Estonia]]
[[Category:Flora of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Flora of Idaho]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]