bilberry
- Also called:
- whortleberry
bilberry, (Vaccinium myrtillus), low-growing deciduous shrub belonging to the heath family (Ericaceae). It is found in woods and on heaths, chiefly in hilly districts of Great Britain, northern Europe, and Asia. The fruits are a principal food of the grouse and are used for tarts and preserves.
The stiff stems, 15 to 60 cm (6 to 24 inches) high, bear small egg-shaped leaves with serrated margins and small, globose, rosy flowers tinged with green. Bilberry is partly self-sterile but has been hybridized with the lingonberry (V. vitis-idaeus). The dark blue berries, ripening in July and August, have a waxy bloom and are about 1 cm (0.4 inch) in diameter. The berries are borne singly, in contrast to those of the much more productive cultivated blueberries (Vaccinium species) of the United States, which are borne in short clusters.