Bilberry

the fruit of bilberry (Vaccinii myrtilli fructus) and the leaf of bilberry (Vaccinii myrtilli folium)

The bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is a low shrub with small leaves and dark blue, bloomed fruit which inside is not white but violet; that is how the native woodland bilberry is told from the cultivated American blueberry. It grows in the undergrowth of coniferous and mixed woods, on acid soil.

The fruit is gathered in July and August, when fully ripe and coming away without force. The leaves are gathered during flowering or just after it. For tea the fruit is dried quickly at a low temperature, or it sticks together; dried, it is hard and wrinkled.

Care is needed when gathering in the wild because of the fox tapeworm; it is advisable to cook or wash the fruit well. In Ašič's collection the fruit appears in the Refreshing Tea and Refreshment from the Monastery blends.

Use and evidence

The dried fruit has traditional use for mild diarrhoea and for rinsing the mouth; claims about treating diabetes, eye diseases or intestinal ulcers are not reliably established for ordinary preparations. EMA.