View source for Biology:Vaccinium vitis-idaea

{{Short description|Species of shrub with edible fruit}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Lingonberry
| image = Vaccinium vitis-idaea 20060824 003.jpg
| image_caption = ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' var. ''vitis-idaea'' surrounded by [[Biology:Cladonia rangiferina|reindeer lichen]]
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status = LC
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Maiz-Tome, L. |date=2016 |title=''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' |page=e.T18748884A78457217 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T18748884A78457217.en |access-date=24 October 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''. NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129786/Vaccinium_vitis-idaea |website=explorer.natureserve.org}}</ref>
| genus = Vaccinium
| species = vitis-idaea
| authority = [[Biography:Carl Linnaeus|L.]] 1753
| synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2457314 ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' L. ] '' The Plant List, www.theplantlist.org''</ref>
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=<small>Synonymy</small>
|''Myrtillus exigua'' <small>Bubani</small>
|''Rhodococcum vitis-idaea'' <small>Avrorin</small>
|''Vaccinium jesoense'' <small>Miq.</small>
|''Vitis-idaea punctata'' <small>Moench</small>
|''Vitis-idaea punctifolia'' <small>Gray</small>
|''Rhodococcum minus'' <small>(Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Avrorin</small>
|''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus'' <small>Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.</small>
|''Vitis-idaea punctata'' var. ''minor'' <small>(Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Moldenke </small>
}}}}

'''''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''''', the '''lingonberry''', '''partridgeberry''',{{efn|This name usually refers to ''[[Biology:Mitchella repens|Mitchella repens]]''.}} '''mountain cranberry''' or '''cowberry''', is a small [[Biology:Evergreen|evergreen]] shrub in the heath family [[Biology:Ericaceae|Ericaceae]], that bears edible fruit. It is [[Earth:Native plant|native]] to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe and Asia to North America. Lingonberries are picked in the wild and used to accompany various dishes, primarily in the Nordic countries.<ref>{{cite web |last=Åkerström |first=Lola Akinmade |title=10 things to know about Sweden's food culture |work=10 July 2012 |publisher=Sweden.se |url= http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Food-drink/Reading/10-things-to-know-about-Swedens-food-culture/ |archive-url= http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120712193126/http%3A//www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Food%2Ddrink/Reading/10%2Dthings%2Dto%2Dknow%2Dabout%2DSwedens%2Dfood%2Dculture/ |archive-date= 2012-07-12 |access-date=26 August 2013}}</ref> Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. [[Place:Pacific Northwest|Pacific Northwest]]<ref>"Economic Evaluation of Lingonberry Production in Oregon" "Oregon State University Extension Service" Dec 2003 [https://web.archive.org/web/20060901173125/http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8847.pdf]</ref> and in the Netherlands.<ref name="Rozāne"/>

==Names==
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is most commonly known in English as 'lingonberry' or 'cowberry'.<ref name="stang"/><ref name="Gray's Manual of Botany">Gray's Manual of Botany: Asa Gray</ref><ref name="USDA">{{PLANTS|symbol=VAVI|taxon=Vaccinium vitis-idaea}}</ref> The name 'lingonberry' originates from the Swedish name {{Lang|sv|lingon}} for the species, and is derived from {{lang-non|lyngr}} ("heather").

The [[Biology:Binomial nomenclature|genus name]] ''Vaccinium'' is a classical Latin name for a plant, possibly the [[Biology:Vaccinium myrtillus|bilberry]] or [[Biology:Hyacinth (plant)|hyacinth]], and may be derived from the Latin {{Lang|la|bacca}}, 'berry'.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hyam |first1=R. |last2=Pankhurst |first2=R.J. |year=1995 |title=Plants and their names : a concise dictionary |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-866189-4 |name-list-style=amp }} p. 515.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Coombes |first=Allen J. |year=1994 |title=Dictionary of Plant Names |location=London |publisher=Hamlyn Books |isbn=978-0-600-58187-1 }} p. 187.</ref> The specific name is derived from Latin {{Lang|la|vitis}} ('vine') and {{Lang|la|idaea}}, the feminine form of {{Lang|la|idaeus}} (literally 'from Mount Ida', used in reference to raspberries ''[[Biology:Rubus idaeus|Rubus idaeus]]'').<ref name="mw">{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idaein |title=idaein |dictionary=Merriam-Webster}}</ref><ref name="bo">{{cite web |url= http://www.botanical-online.com/english/raspberry.htm |title=Raspberries |date=19 January 2019 |publisher=Botanical-online}}</ref>

There are at least 25 other common English names of ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' worldwide, including:<ref name="stang">{{cite book|author1=Elden J. Stang |author2=Gavin G. Weis |author3=John Klueh  |name-list-style=amp |editor1=J. Janick |editor2=J.E. Simon |year=1990|title=Advances in new crops|chapter=Lingonberry: Potential New Fruit for the Northern United States|pages=321–323|publisher=Timber Press|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-321.html }}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* bearberry
* beaverberry
* cougarberry
* foxberry
* lowbush cranberry
* mountain bilberry
* mountain cranberry
* partridgeberry<ref name="Hall">{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Joan Houston|year=2002|title=Dictionary of American Regional English|publisher=Harvard University Press|page=47|isbn=0-674-00884-7|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i33BWgxbvXgC&pg=PA47 |access-date=2007-11-16}}</ref> (in Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island)
* quailberry
* red whortleberry
* redberry (in Labrador and the Lower North Shore of Quebec)
{{Div col end}}

==Description==
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' spreads by [[Biology:Rhizome|underground stems]] to form dense [[Biology:Clonal colony|clonal colonies]]. Slender and brittle [[Biology:Root|root]]s grow from the underground stems. The stems are rounded in cross-section and grow from {{convert|10|to|40|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in height. Leaves grow [[Biology:Phyllotaxis#Leaf arrangement|alternately]] and are oval, {{convert|5|-|30|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} long, with a slightly wavy margin, and sometimes with a notched tip.

The [[Biology:Flower|flower]]s are bell-shaped, white to pale pink, {{convert|3|-|8|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} long, and produced in the early summer. ''V. vitis-idaea'' begins to produce flowers from five to ten years of age.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ritchie |first=J. C. |date=1955 |title=Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea L. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2257030 |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=701–708 |doi=10.2307/2257030 |issn=0022-0477}}</ref> They are pollinated by multiple insect species, including ''[[Biology:Andrena lapponica|Andrena lapponica]]'' and several species of [[Biology:Bumblebee|bumblebee]].<ref name=":0" /> 

The fruit is a red [[Biology:Berry (botany)|berry]] {{convert|6|-|10|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} across, with an acidic taste, ripening in late summer to autumn.<ref name="FNA">Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200016732 ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'']</ref> While bitter early in the season, they sweeten if left on the branch through winter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. | last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |year=1985 |orig-year=1979|publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=510}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Image:Vaccinium vitis-idaea L..jpg|19th century illustration
File:Vaccinium vitis-idaea (flowering).jpg|Flowers
Image:Vaccinium vitisidaea flower.jpg|Flowers and young shoots
File:Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Empetrum nigrum 20230823.jpg|''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' and ''Empetrum nigrum'' in Denali National Park
File:Tyttebær.jpg|Ripe lingonberries
</gallery>

==Conservation status in the United States==
The plant is endangered in Michigan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=vavi|title= Plants Profile for Vaccinium vitis-idaea (ligonberry) |website= plants.usda.gov |access-date= 7 January 2018|author=<!--Not stated-->}}</ref> The ''minus'' subspecies is listed as a species of special concern and believed extirpated in Connecticut.<ref>[http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ets15.pdf "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"]. State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 7 January 2017. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.142000/Vaccinium_vitis-idaea_ssp_minus |website=explorer.natureserve.org |access-date=8 December 2022}}</ref>

==Ecology==
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' keeps its leaves all winter even in the coldest years, unusual for a [[Biology:Flowering plant|broad-leaved plant]], though in its natural habitat it is usually protected from severe cold by snow cover. It is extremely hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as {{convert|-40|C|F|abbr=on}} or lower, but grows poorly where summers are hot. It prefers some shade (as from a forest canopy) and constantly moist, acidic soil. Nutrient-poor soils are tolerated but not alkaline soils.

==Varieties==
[[Image:Vaccinium vitis-idaea var minus Denali AK.jpg|thumb|''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus'']]

There are two regional [[Biology:Variety (botany)|varieties]] or [[Biology:Subspecies|subspecies]] of ''V. vitis-idaea'', one in Eurasia and one in North America, differing in leaf size:

* ''V. vitis-idaea'' var. ''vitis-idaea'' L.—[[Biology:Synonym (taxonomy)|syn.]] ''V. vitis-idaea'' subsp. ''vitis-idaea''.<br/>''cowberry''. Eurasia. Leaves are {{convert|10|-|30|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long.
* ''V. vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus'' Lodd.—syn. ''V. vitis-idaea'' subsp. ''minus'' (Lodd.) Hultén.<br/>''lingonberry''. North America. Leaves are {{convert|5|-|18|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="FNA"/>

==Cultivation==
Lingonberry has been commercially cultivated in the Netherlands and other countries since the 1960s.<ref name="Rozāne">{{cite news |last1=Rozāne |first1=Keita |title=Plant wonders: Healthy lingonberries can be grown in the garden, too |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/environment/plant-wonders-healthy-lingonberries-can-be-grown-in-the-garden-too.a385290/ |access-date=26 May 2021 |work=eng.lsm.lv |publisher=Public Broadcasting of Latvia |date=24 May 2021}}</ref>

Some [[Biology:Cultivar|cultivar]]s are grown for their ornamental rather than culinary value. In the United Kingdom, the Koralle Group has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/100988/Vaccinium-vitis-idaea-Koralle-Group/Details |title=RHS Plant Selector Vaccinium vitis-idaea Koralle Group AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 106 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 5 February 2019}}</ref>

==Culinary uses==
[[Image:LingonberryJam.jpeg|thumb|Lingonberry jam on toast]]
[[Image:Mustamakkara2019.jpg|thumb|Lingonberry jam with ''mustamakkara'', a traditional food in Tampere, {{wipe|Finland}}]]
[[Image:Koettbullar stockholm2006.jpg|thumb|Swedish meatballs served with a side of lingonberry jam]]

The berries collected in the wild are a popular fruit in northern, central and eastern Europe, notably in the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, central and northern Europe. In some areas, they can be picked legally on both public and private lands in accordance with the freedom to roam.<ref>{{cite web|title=Picking flowers, berries, mushrooms, etc.|url=http://www.swedishepa.se/Enjoying-nature/The-Right-of-Public-Access/This-is-allowed/Picking-flowers-berries-mushrooms-etc/|website=The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency|publisher=Naturvårdsverket|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313201841/http://www.swedishepa.se/Enjoying-nature/The-Right-of-Public-Access/This-is-allowed/Picking-flowers-berries-mushrooms-etc/|archive-date=2016-03-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The berries are quite tart, so they are often cooked and sweetened before eating in the form of lingonberry jam, compote, juice, smoothie or syrup. The raw fruits are also frequently simply mashed with sugar, which preserves most of their nutrients and taste. This mix can be stored at room temperature in closed but not necessarily sealed containers, but in this condition, they are best preserved frozen. Fruit served this way or as compote often accompanies game and liver dishes.

In Sweden the traditional Swedish meatballs are served with lingonberry jam alongside boiled or mashed potatoes and gravy sauce. In Sweden, {{wipe|Finland}} and {{wipe|Norway}}, [[Biology:Reindeer|reindeer]] and elk steaks are traditionally served with gravy and lingonberry sauce. Preserved fruit is commonly eaten with meatballs, as well as potato pancakes. A traditional Swedish dessert is {{Lang|sv|lingonpäron}} (literally 'lingonberry pears'), consisting of fresh [[Biology:Pear|pear]]s which are peeled, boiled and preserved in {{Lang|sv|lingondricka}} (lingonberry juice) and is commonly eaten during Christmas. This was very common in old times{{When|date=January 2024}}, because it was an easy and tasty way to preserve pears. In Sweden and {{wipe|Russia}}, when [[Chemistry:Sugar|sugar]] was still a luxury item, the berries were usually preserved simply by putting them whole into bottles of water. This was known as {{Lang|sv|vattlingon}} (watered lingonberries); the procedure preserved them until next season. This was also a home remedy against [[Medicine:Scurvy|scurvy]].

This traditional Russian soft drink, known as "lingonberry water", is mentioned by Alexander Pushkin in ''Eugene Onegin''. In Russian [[Medicine:Traditional medicine|folk medicine]], lingonberry water was used as a mild laxative. A traditional Finnish dish is sautéed reindeer ({{Lang|fi|poronkäristys}}) with mashed potatoes and lingonberries on the side, either raw, thawed or as a jam. In Finland, whipped semolina pudding flavored with lingonberry ({{Lang|fi|puolukkapuuro}}) is also popular. In {{wipe|Poland}}, the berries are often mixed with [[Biology:Pear|pear]]s to create a sauce served with poultry or game. The berries can also be used to replace redcurrants when creating Cumberland sauce.

The berries are also popular as a wild picked fruit in Eastern Canada, for example in Newfoundland and Labrador and Cape Breton, where they are locally known as partridgeberries or redberries, and on the mainland of Nova Scotia, where they are known as foxberries. In this region they are incorporated into jams, syrups, and baked goods, such as pies, scones, and muffins.

In Sweden lingonberries are often sold as jam and juice, and as a key ingredient in dishes. They are used to make Lillehammer berry liqueur; and, in East European countries, lingonberry vodka is sold, and vodka with lingonberry juice or ''mors'' is a cocktail.

The berries are an important food for bears and foxes, and many fruit-eating birds. Caterpillars of the case-bearer moths ''[[Biology:Coleophora glitzella|Coleophora glitzella]]'', ''[[Biology:Coleophora idaeella|Coleophora idaeella]]'' and ''[[Biology:Coleophora vitisella|Coleophora vitisella]]'' are obligate feeders on ''V. vitis-idaea'' leaves.

===In Indigenous North American cuisine===
Alaska natives mix the berries with [[Biology:Rose hip|rose hip]] pulp and sugar to make jam, cook the berries as a sauce, and store the berries for future use.<ref>Heller, Christine A., 1953, Edible and Poisonous Plants of Alaska, University of Alaska, page 109</ref> The Dakelh use the berries to make jam.<ref>Carrier Linguistic Committee, 1973, Plants of Carrier Country, Fort St. James, BC. Carrier Linguistic Committee, page 76</ref> The Koyukon freeze the berries for winter use.<ref>Nelson, Richard K., 1983, Make Prayers to the Raven&mdash;A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest, Chicago. The University of Chicago Press, page 55</ref> Inuit dilute and sweeten the juice to make a beverage, freeze and store the berries for spring, and use the berries to make jams and jellies.<ref>Porsild, A.E., 1953, Edible Plants of the Arctic, Arctic 6:15-34, page 22 Note: The source simply lists "Eskimo" rather than a specific group.</ref> The Iñupiat use the berries to make two different desserts, one in which the berries are whipped with frozen fish eggs and eaten, and one in which raw berries are mashed with canned milk and seal oil. They also make a dish of the berries cooked with fish eggs, fish (whitefish, sheefish or [[Biology:Esox|pike]]) and blubber.<ref>Jones, Anore, 1983, Nauriat Niginaqtuat = Plants That We Eat, Kotzebue, Alaska. Maniilaq Association Traditional Nutrition Program, page 86</ref>

The Upper Tanana boil the berries with sugar and flour to thicken; eat the raw berries, either plain or mixed with sugar, grease or a combination of the two; fry them in grease with sugar or dried fish eggs; or make them into pies, jam, and jelly. They also preserve the berries alone or in grease and store them in a birchbark basket in an underground cache, or freeze them.<ref name="Kari, Priscilla Russe 1985, page 9">Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 9</ref>

====Use of the ''minus'' subspecies====
The Anticosti people use the fruit to make jams and jellies.<ref>Rousseau, Jacques, 1946, Notes Sur L'ethnobotanique D'anticosti, Archives de Folklore 1:60-71, page 68</ref> The Nihithawak Cree store the berries by freezing them outside during the winter, mix the berries with boiled fish eggs, livers, air bladders and fat and eat them, eat the berries raw as a snack food, or stew them with fish or meat.<ref name="Leighton, Anna L. 1985, page 64">Leighton, Anna L., 1985, Wild Plant Use by the Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 64</ref> The Iñupiat of Nelson Island eat the berries,<ref>Ager, Thomas A. and Lynn Price Ager, 1980, Ethnobotany of The Eskimos of Nelson Island, Alaska, Arctic Anthropology 27:26-48, page 37</ref> as do the Iñupiat of the Northern Bering Sea and Arctic regions of Alaska,<ref>Anderson, J. P., 1939, Plants Used by the Eskimo of the Northern Bering Sea and Arctic Regions of Alaska, American Journal of Botany 26:714-16, page 715</ref> as well as the Inuvialuit.<ref name="Wilson, Michael R. 1978, page 183">Wilson, Michael R., 1978, Notes on Ethnobotany in Inuktitut, The Western Canadian Journal of Anthropology 8:180-196, page 183</ref> The Haida people, Hesquiaht First Nation, Wuikinuxv and Tsimshian all use the berries as food.<ref>Compton, Brian Douglas, 1993, Upper North Wakashan and Southern Tsimshian Ethnobotany: The Knowledge and Usage of Plants..., Ph.D. Dissertation, University of British Columbia, page 101</ref>

===Nutrition===
Raw lingonberries are 86% water, 13% [[Chemistry:Carbohydrate|carbohydrate]]s, 1% [[Biology:Protein (nutrient)|protein]], and contain negligible [[Chemistry:Fat|fat]].<ref name=foodcomp/> In a {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=off|adj=on}} reference amount, lingonberries supply 228 [[Calorie|calorie]]s, and are low-to-moderate sources of [[Biology:Vitamin C|vitamin C]], B vitamins, and [[Chemistry:Mineral (nutrient)|dietary minerals]].<ref name="foodcomp">{{cite web| title=Lingonberry, raw - Nutrition Information and Facts| website=Department of Nutrition, National Food Institute - Technical University of Denmark| date=2009-01-13| access-date=2015-09-17| url=https://frida.fooddata.dk/food/769?lang=en}}</ref>

==Traditional medicine==
In [[Medicine:Traditional medicine|traditional medicine]], ''V. vitis-idaea'' was used as an apéritif and astringent.<ref name=jad>{{cite web |author=James A. Duke |title=''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' (Ericaceae) |publisher=Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/ethnobot.pl?ethnobot.taxon=Vaccinium%20vitis-idaea |access-date=May 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120082334/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/ethnobot.pl?ethnobot.taxon=Vaccinium%20vitis-idaea |archive-date=January 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The Upper Tanana ate the berries or used their juice to treat minor respiratory disorders.<ref name="Kari, Priscilla Russe 1985, page 9"/>

==Other uses==
The Nihithawak Cree use the berries of the ''minus'' subspecies to color [[Biology:Porcupine|porcupine]] quills, and put the firm, ripe berries on a string to wear as a necklace.<ref name="Leighton, Anna L. 1985, page 64"/> The Western Canadian Inuit use the ''minus'' subspecies as a tobacco additive or substitute.<ref name="Wilson, Michael R. 1978, page 183"/>

==Related species==
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' differs from the related [[Biology:Cranberry|cranberries]] in having white flowers with petals partially enclosing the stamens and stigma, rather than pink flowers with petals reflexed backwards, and rounder, less pear-shaped berries.

[[Biology:Hybrid plant|Hybrids]] between ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' and ''[[Biology:Vaccinium myrtillus|Vaccinium myrtillus]]'', named ''Vaccinium × intermedium'' Ruthe, are occasionally found in Europe.

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

{{Non-timber forest products|state=expanded}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q93235}}

[[Category:Vaccinium|vitis-idaea]]
[[Category:Groundcovers]]
[[Category:Subshrubs]]

{{Sourceattribution|Vaccinium vitis-idaea}}