?Bilberry
Bilberry in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Ericales Family: Ericaceae Genus: Vaccinium Species: V. myrtillus
Binomial name
Vaccinium myrtillus L.

Bilberry is a name given to several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium (family Ericaceae) that bear tasty fruits. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., also known as blaeberry, whortleberry, whinberry, 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 File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x768, 239 KB) Description: Vaccinum myrtillus Picture taken by BerndH Date: 2. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families See text. ... Genera See text The plant Family Ericaceae (Heath Family) or ericaceous plants are mostly lime-hating or calcifuge plants that thrive in acid soils. ... Species See text Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae including the cranberry, blueberry, lingonberry, bilberry, and huckleberry. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ... Species See text Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae including the cranberry, blueberry, lingonberry, bilberry, and huckleberry. ... Genera See text The plant Family Ericaceae (Heath Family) or ericaceous plants are mostly lime-hating or calcifuge plants that thrive in acid soils. ... Remnants of the floral parts are clearly evident on these immature banana fruits, demonstrating that the fruit is developing from an inferior ovary A false berry or epigynous berry is an accessory fruit found in certain plant species with an inferior ovary. ... Thomas Hardy For other people called Thomas Hardy, see Thomas Hardy (disambiguation) Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was a novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement, who delineated characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. ... The Return of the Native is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1878. ...

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). Image File history File links Blaeberry. ... Image File history File links Blaeberry. ...

Bilberries are found in damp, acidic soils throughout the temperate and subarctic regions of the world. They are closely related to North American wild and cultivated blueberries and 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. Bilberry is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Vaccinium. For other uses, see Acid (disambiguation). ... Loess field in Germany Soil horizons are formed by combined biological, chemical and physical alterations. ... For the usage in virology, see temperate (virology). ... The subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the extreme north of Heilongjiang. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Species See text. ... Wild huckleberry in the Mount Hood National Forest. ... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... Super Families Butterflies Hesperioidea Papilionoidea Moths Micropterigoidea Heterobathmioidea Eriocranioidea Acanthopteroctetoidea Lophocoronoidea Neopseustoidea Mnesarchaeoidea Hepialoidea Nepticuloidea Incurvarioidea Palaephatoidea Tischeriodea Simaethistoidea Tineoidea Gracillarioidea Yponomeutoidea Gelechioidea Zygaenoidea Sesioidea Cossoidea Tortricoidea Choreutoida Urodoidea Galacticoidea Schreckensteinioidea Epermenioidea Pterophoroidea Aluctoidea Immoidea Axioidea Hyblaeoidea Thyridoidea Whalleyanoidea Pyraloidea Mimallonoidea Lasiocampoidea Geometroidea Drepanoidea Bombycoidea Calliduloidae Hedyloidea Noctuoidea Families About... Vaccinium species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera species including: Autumnal Moth (Epirrita autumnata) Bordered Pug (Eupithecia succenturiata) - recorded on bilberry Common Emerald (Hemithea aestivaria) Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata) - recorded on bilberry Dot Moth (Melanchra persicariae) - recorded on...

Bilberries are rarely cultivated but fruits are sometimes collected from wild plants growing on publicly accessible lands, notably in Fennoscandia, 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 fraochán, and is traditionally gathered on the last Sunday in July, known as Fraughan Sunday. This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... The right of public access to the wilderness, or everymans right, is a convention of property rights in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Finland and Norway, in addition to parts of Scotland (Shetland/Orkney), which allows the common public the right of access to the land, be it public...

The fruits can be eaten fresh, but are more usually made into jams, fools, juices or pies. In France they are used as a base for liqueurs and are a popular flavouring for sorbets and other desserts. In Brittany they are often used as a flavouring for crêpes, and in the Vosges and the Massif Central bilberry tart (tarte aux myrtilles) is the most traditional dessert. Jam from berries Jam is a type of sweet spread or condiment made with certain fruits or vegetables, sugar, and sometimes pectin. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Juice is a fluid naturally contained in animal or plant tissue. ... This article is about the baked good, for other uses see Pie (disambiguation). ... Bottles of strawberry liqueur A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. ... A bowl of mango sorbet Sorbet (or sorbetto, sorbeto) is a frozen dessert made from iced fruit puree and other ingredients. ... Traditional coat of arms Modern flag (Gwenn-ha-du) Historical province of Brittany région of Bretagne, see Bretagne. ... A heap of crêpes A sweet crêpe opened up, with whipped cream and strawberry sauce on it A sweet crêpe rolled up, ready to be eaten crêpes being made in La Crêperie de Hampstead in London, England A crêpe (also spelled crepe) (originally from... Vosges is a French département, named after the Vosges mountain range. ... France, viewed from the NASA Shuttle Topography Radar Mission. ...

Medicinal Uses

Bilberry fruit

Bilberry is often said to improve night vision, and the story is told of RAF pilots in World War II using bilberry for that purpose. A recent study [1] by the U.S. Navy found no effect, however, and the origins of the RAF story are unclear; it does not appear to be well known in the RAF itself.[2]. Studies ([3], [4]) have shown that bilberry can reduce or reverse effects of degenerative eye disorders such as macular degeneration. The overall therapeutic use of bilberry is still clinically unproven. Night-vision is seeing in the dark. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Listen to this article · (info) This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-07-19, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ...

It may have other beneficial effects on capillaries due to the strong antioxidant properties of its anthocyanidin flavonoids. The word capillary is used to describe any very narrow tube or channel through which a fluid can pass. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section can be improved by converting lengthy lists to text. ... Flavonoids are a group of chemical compounds naturally found in certain fruits, vegetables, teas, wines, nuts, seeds, and roots. ... Molecular structure of flavone The term flavonoid refers to a class of plant secondary metabolites based around a phenylbenzopyrone structure. ...

The leaves have historically been used to treat gastrointestinal ailments, applied topically or made into infusions. The effects claimed have not been reproduced in the laboratory, however. The gastrointestinal tract or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal, (nourishment canal) or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste. ...

Billberries were also collected at Lughnassadh, the first traditional harvest festival of the year, as celebrated by the Gaelic people. The crop of billberries was said to indicate how well the rest of the crops would fare in their harvests later in the year. Lughnasadh (or Lughnasa; modern Irish Lúnasa) is a Gaelic holiday celebrated on 1 August, during the time of the harvesting. ...

See also

Look up bilberry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

External links

• Species profile: Blaeberry
• Bilberry and Herbal Medicine