Hybridises with : Cowberry, the hybrid being called Hybrid Bilbery or (Vaccinium × Intermedium). The hybrid has darker leaves and is evergreen, whereas Bilberry itself is deciduous. It is very rare and seems to now only grow in the Cannock Chase area.

Some similarities to : Blueberry, its larger-berried North American counterpart that was grown commercially in the south of Britain.

Slight resemblance to : Yew 'Berries'. The ripe black bilberries themselves look similar in shape, but not in colour, to the red arils of Yew Trees.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature :

Northerners call them Bilberries and since they grow mainly in the North of Britain their many alternative names forged further south should be put aside, to be forgotten, for they only cause confusion; Bilberries they should be called.

The upper stems are green and triangular in cross-section, often twisted and knotted. A deciduous low sub-shrub that grows in acid soils, often mixed in with heather on moorland and heathland. The flowers are bell-shaped and reddish with a darker purplish hint, always hanging down facing the ground. Leaves mid-green at first turn yellow, then red in autumn.

The berries are blue-black, with a white waxy bloom that wipes off with fingers, and are usually half-hidden beneath the leaves. Delectably edible, and delicious when ripe. Bilberry pies are scrumptious. The fact that it has so many synonyms testifies to the fact that it is widespread and enjoyed by many. Moorland grouse eat the berries, turning their faeces blue, often leaving an intriguing blue splodge on millstone grit rocks.

Bilberry contains at least 15 different anthocyanins, several flavonoids including Quercitrin, IsoQuercitrin, Hyperoside and Astagalin together with catechol tannins, Ursolic Acid, Caffeic Acid, Chlorogenic Acid. The anthocyanins are based upon Malvidin, Cyanidin and Delphinidin.

The anthocyanins are useful in improving eyesight and night-vision and in delaying the onset of cataracts and other eye disorders especially AMD (age-related macular degeneration) which afflicts people over the age of 55 causing blindness starting from the central part of the vision first (unlike tunnel vision where the retina starts degrading around the periphery). The anthocyanins help to regenerate rhodopsin, a purple dye involved in night vision.

These are all anthocyanidins, which are highly coloured pigments which have anti-oxidant properties. The glycosides of anthocyanidins are called anthocyanins, which are shown in the box below. Cyanidin is an reddish-yellow pigment and anthocyanidin found not only in Bilberry fruits, but also in blackberries, blueberries, cherries, cranberries, elderberries, hawthorn berries, loganberries, and raspberry. As with most cyanidins, the colour is dependent upon the pH, being red at pH less than 3, violet at neutral acidities (pH 7-8), and blue at pH greater than 11. Delphinidin imparts a shade of blue to flowers of Violas and Delphiniums where it is in an alkaline environment; in an acid environment it becomes red. One of the glycosides of Delphinidin, Delphinidin-3-O-glucoside (not shown) is an anthocyanin found in Blackcurrents (examples of anthocyanins found in Bilberry are shown in the box below). Malvidin is the di-methylated version of Delphinidin, and is a blue pigment found in bilberries and in Primulas. Malvidin is also found in red wine, where it is in an acid environment and therefore red. in basic conditions it exhibits a blue colour.

Hyperoside is one of the glycosides of the anthocyanin Cyanidin, above. It is the 3-O-galactoside of Quercetin and is found in bilberries, Primulas, St John's Wort, Woundworts and other plants of Genus Stachys. Myrtillin is an anthocyanin and one of the glycosides of the anthocyanidin Delphinidine, above. It is found in Blackcurrent, the leaves of Blueberry and Bilberry, several plants of the Myrtaceae Family. It is a dark red colour and is responsible for the dark redness of the fruits of the Sumach Trees. It may have uses in stabilising the blood-sugar level of those suffering from Glycaemia and Diabetes, where it saves the use of insulin.

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