Bilberry

Blåbär is Sweden’s most popular wild fruit – thanks to allemansrätten anyone can pick berries in forests all over the country.

The bilberry is a low dwarf shrub 15–50 cm tall, with green, sharply angled stems and small, ovate, toothed leaves that turn red and fall in autumn. In May it bears single, globular, greenish-pink flowers, which in summer develop into dark blue berries with a bluish bloom and dark, staining flesh. It grows in conifer and mixed forests on acid, moist soils, forming extensive swathes in the undergrowth. The berries are rich in anthocyanins and have long been used in folk medicine, for example for stomach complaints.

Significance in the country

Under allemansrätten – the right of public access to nature – berries may be picked in Sweden even in private forests, and August outings for blåbär are a family tradition. The berries go into blåbärspaj pie, jams and blåbärssoppa, a bilberry soup that traditionally refreshes skiers in the Vasaloppet race.

Where it grows

In forests throughout the country, from Skåne and Småland to Norrland and Lapland; the richest crops come from the spruce and mixed forests of central and northern Sweden.

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl)