Vaccinium vitis-idaea (common name: bilberry,lingonberry,cowberry) is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America.
Bilberry contain plentiful organic acids, vitamin C, vitamin A (as beta carotene), B vitamins (B1, B2, B3), and the elements potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, and also bilberry seed contain omega-3 fatty acids.
In folk medicine, bilberry has been used as an aperitif, astringent, antihemorrhagic, depurative, antiseptic (especially for the urethra), a diuretic, a tonic for the nervous system, and in various ways to treat breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, rheumatism, and various urogenital conditions.
In traditional Austrian medicine, bilberry have been administrated internally as jelly or syrup for treatment of disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and urinary tract, and fever.
Similar: Vaccinium uliginosum, Vaccinium myrtillus
