''Vaccinium uliginosum'' (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, northern bilberry or western blueberry) is a Eurasian and North American

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the heath family Ericaceae.

Description

''Vaccinium uliginosum'' is a small

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub growing to tall, rarely tall, with brown stems (unlike the green stems of the closely related

bilberry Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...

). The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are oval, long and wide, blue-green with pale net-like veins, with a smooth margin and rounded apex. The flowers are pendulous, urn-shaped, pale pink, long, produced in mid-spring. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

is a dark blue-black berry in diameter, with a white sweet flesh, ripe in late summer. Cytology is 2n = 24. Its fruit persists for an average of 26.1 days, and bears an average of 24.7 seeds per fruit. Fruits average 86.8% water, and their dry weight includes 38.4% carbohydrates and 3.9%

lipid Lipids are a broad group of organic compounds which include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids include storing ...

Subspecies

Three subspecies have been described, but not all authorities distinguish them: *''Vaccinium uliginosum'' subsp. ''microphyllum'' Lange – Arctic plants *''Vaccinium uliginosum'' subsp. ''occidentale'' (A.Gray) Hultén – North American plants *''Vaccinium uliginosum'' subsp. ''uliginosum''

Distribution and habitat

The plant is native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, at low altitudes in the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

, Baltics, and at high altitudes south to the Pyrenees, the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, and the Caucasus in Europe, the mountains of

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, northern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the Korean Peninsula and central

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in Asia, and the Sierra Nevada in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and the Rocky Mountains in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in North America. It grows on wet acidic soils on heathland,

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

tundra In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...

, and in the understory of

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

ous forests, from sea level in the Arctic, up to altitude in the south of the range. ''V. uliginosum'' can survive long, severe climatic oscillations.

Uses

The berries can be eaten raw or cooked, used to make jelly or pies, or dried to make pemmican. In

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine is the set of foods and culinary styles which are associated with Korean culture. This cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient Prehistoric Korea, agricultural and nomad ...

, bog bilberry is used to make infused liquor (''Deuljjuk- sul'').

Gallery

References

External links

*
Jepson Manual treatment of ''Vaccinium uliginosum''
– ''flora of California''.
Flora Europaea: ''Vaccinium uliginosum''Plants of British Columbia: ''Vaccinium uliginosum''
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q146967 uliginosum Berries Alpine flora Flora of the Arctic Flora of the Alps Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Flora of Canada Flora of Greenland Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Bird food plants Japanese fruit Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus