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| Dwarf Bilberry |
The Pacific Northwest has a whopping 14 species of Vaccinium, the genus
containing huckleberries, blueberries, bilberries and cranberries. With such dazzling
diversity, it has taken considerable study and many a happy mission for me to track
them down, but this year I’ve finally seen them all and tasted all but one.
I spent the last week in August with my brother in Juneau
and took full advantage of the foray to forage on the Last Frontier. Our
journeys took us climbing to the top of Mt. Juneau, braving the bowels of the Mendenhall
Glacier, trudging across the muskegs of Douglas Island, and scampering along Gold Creek.
Basically as far as bus fare and our feet could take us.
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| We found six of Alaska's seven Vaccinium species in one bog! |
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| Lingonberry |
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| Nagoonberry |
This northerly corner of our bioregion graced me with
discoveries of a precious and palatable sort. I had my first taste of Lingonberries
(Vaccinium vitis-idaea), caught the
last of the ripe Nagoonberries (Rubus arcticus),
a fruit that is thought by many Europeans to be the superlative fruit, and most exciting to me, I had my first good
taste of Dwarf Bilberry (V. caespitosum).
Dwarf Bilberry (
Vaccinium
caespitosum) is a lowmat forming shrub that is usually less than 1.5’
(50cm) tall with upright to prostrate stems. Young twigs are generally round in
cross section and covered with a dense layer of microscopic fuzz. The bark ranges
from green, brownish green or yellowish green to peach, pink, or red on young
twigs, but browns and become flaky with age. Leaves are dark green on the upper
surface and lighter on the underside with prominent reticulate venation. At
about 1” (1-3cm) long, the leaves have an elliptical to obovate shape and
margins that are finely and sharply serrated, with hairs at the tip of
each serration. The small flowers are borne singly near the branches and are
longer than wide, range in color from white to pink, and each one often has an
exerted pistil. Berries grow on short curved stalks and mature from green to
yellow to orangish red to purple before finally ripening to dark blue with a
whitish blue bloom. The tip of each berry has a skirt-like circular scar where
the corolla attached to the calyx. The berries range in size from 5/16-7/16”
(8-11mm).
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| A line-up of ripening Dwarf Bilberries |
Dwarf Bilberries have an extensive yet patchy range
throughout western North America from Anchorage to San Francisco along the
Pacific Coast and inland to the Rockies in British Columbia, Montana and Idaho,
and the Sierra Nevada in California. They inhabit bogs, muskeg, and
arctic/alpine meadows with other ericaceous shrubs such as Lingonberry (
V. vitis-idaea), Bog Bilberry (
V. uliginosum), Cascade Bilberry (
V. deliciosum), and various heather
species. Near my house in Northwest Washington, they can be found in the rugged
Twin Sister’s Range and the remote Pasayten wilderness. I can honestly say
that I’ve never found a Dwarf Bilberry in a boring place. It is almost as if a
couple miles of bush-whacking is required to earn the right to find them.
Capable of fruiting prodigiously, Dwarf Bilberries can be collected quickly by hand or rake by anyone willing to stoop for
these hobbit sized bushes. They have juicy dark flesh, thin skin, and a sweet
and sour flavor that is almost as good as its close cousin the Cascade Bilberry
(
V. deliciosum). When picking
bilberries, I prefer to kneel on the ground and pick into wide mouth containers
placed below the bush. I empty this vessel frequently into a lidded bucket to minimize losses should I slip or accidentally bump it over.
Bilberry picking is messy business and I usually return with purple hands,
knees, and tongue--Bilberry badges of courage.
Christian and I were ill-prepared for our Bilberry bonanza;
with nowhere to store the bountiful harvest we were forced to eat them all.
Dwarf Bilberry (Vaccinium
caespitosum) is a lowmat forming shrub that is usually less than 1.5’
(50cm) tall with upright to prostrate stems. Young twigs are generally round in
cross section and covered with a dense layer of microscopic fuzz. The bark ranges
from green, brownish green or yellowish green to peach, pink, or red on young
twigs, but browns and become flaky with age. Leaves are dark green on the upper
surface and lighter on the underside with prominent reticulate venation. At
about 1” (1-3cm) long, the leaves have an elliptical to obovate shape and
margins that are finely and sharply serrated, with hairs at the tip of
each serration. The small flowers are borne singly near the branches and are
longer than wide, range in color from white to pink, and each one often has an
exerted pistil. Berries grow on short curved stalks and mature from green to
yellow to orangish red to purple before finally ripening to dark blue with a
whitish blue bloom. The tip of each berry has a skirt-like circular scar where
the corolla attached to the calyx. The berries range in size from 5/16-7/16”
(8-11mm).
Dwarf Bilberries have an extensive yet patchy range
throughout western North America from Anchorage to San Francisco along the
Pacific Coast and inland to the Rockies in British Columbia, Montana and Idaho,
and the Sierra Nevada in California. They inhabit bogs, muskeg, and
arctic/alpine meadows with other ericaceous shrubs such as Lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea), Bog Bilberry (V. uliginosum), Cascade Bilberry (V. deliciosum), and various heather
species. Near my house in Northwest Washington, they can be found in the rugged
Twin Sister’s Range and the remote Pasayten wilderness. I can honestly say
that I’ve never found a Dwarf Bilberry in a boring place. It is almost as if a
couple miles of bush-whacking is required to earn the right to find them.
Capable of fruiting prodigiously, Dwarf Bilberries can be collected quickly by hand or rake by anyone willing to stoop for
these hobbit sized bushes. They have juicy dark flesh, thin skin, and a sweet
and sour flavor that is almost as good as its close cousin the Cascade Bilberry
(V. deliciosum). When picking
bilberries, I prefer to kneel on the ground and pick into wide mouth containers
placed below the bush. I empty this vessel frequently into a lidded bucket to minimize losses should I slip or accidentally bump it over.
Bilberry picking is messy business and I usually return with purple hands,
knees, and tongue--Bilberry badges of courage.