Vaccinium myrtillus
Bilberry
How do you recognise bilberry?
A summer-green dwarf shrub, usually 10–50 cm tall, whose young stems are green and angular. The leaves are oval and finely serrated, and they fall for the winter. The flowers are reddish and urn-shaped, and the dark blue berries are usually covered in a grey-blue waxy bloom.
What is it confused with?
Bog bilberry has round brown stems and leaves with entire margins. Lingonberry has leathery evergreen leaves that do not fall at all.
Where does bilberry grow, and when does it flower?
Grows in mesic heath forest, herb-rich woodland, and spruce mires, and tolerates shade well. Flowers in May and June, sometimes not until July, with berries ripening in July and August.
Can you collect it for a herbarium?
Bilberry is the most abundant dwarf shrub in Finland, and a short sprig may be cut for a herbarium.
Did you know?
The green stems photosynthesise even when the plant is bare, so it gathers light all year. A wide bilberry patch can be one individual joined by underground stems.
Where does bilberry grow in Finland?
The map shows where the species has been recorded. Darker squares mean more observations.
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Observations: GBIF · Map: CARTO, OpenStreetMap
Sources: fi.wikipedia.org
Identify plants with your phone
Linnea identifies a plant from a photo and tells you its name and its story. Every find takes its own numbered place in your herbarium, with the day and the town where you found it.
