Guest guest Posted October 13, 2002 Report Share Posted October 13, 2002 At 02:40 PM 10/13/2002 +0000, you wrote: >One site said bilberry is another name for >huckleberry, and another says that huckleberry is the a related plant to the >blueberry, one is east coast, the other west. Does anyone have any input on >this, are the same nutritionally? or is it just the marketing/labeling name. The plants are related - the blueberry plants are Vaccinium myrtilloides (one example) and the huckleberry plants are Vaccinium membranaceum (one example). Bilberry is often called Huckleberry in the U.S. To make matters more confusing, the plants are often confused and called by the same Latin names (one source uses Vaccinium myrtillus for Bilberry). One thing most agree on is that they are " dark berries " (from the Danish word bollebar). An analogy, to put things into perspective, is that roses are members of the same family but one might smell sweeter or be a different color or have better " hips " for vitamin C. Bilberry is purported to have a more pronounced effect on improving eyesight than the more modern hybridized blueberries. I eat blueberries a lot and find that they have a good effect against free radicals and help in detoxification. -=mark=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2002 Report Share Posted October 14, 2002 At 09:01 AM 10/13/02 -0700, you wrote: >At 02:40 PM 10/13/2002 +0000, you wrote: >>One site said bilberry is another name for >>huckleberry, and another says that huckleberry is the a related plant to the >>blueberry, one is east coast, the other west. Does anyone have any input on >>this, are the same nutritionally? or is it just the marketing/labeling name. > >The plants are related - the blueberry plants are Vaccinium myrtilloides >(one example) and the huckleberry plants are Vaccinium membranaceum (one >example). > >Bilberry is often called Huckleberry in the U.S. To make matters more >confusing, the plants are often confused and called by the same Latin names >(one source uses Vaccinium myrtillus for Bilberry). One thing most agree >on is that they are " dark berries " (from the Danish word bollebar). > >An analogy, to put things into perspective, is that roses are members of >the same family but one might smell sweeter or be a different color or have >better " hips " for vitamin C. Bilberry is purported to have a more >pronounced effect on improving eyesight than the more modern hybridized >blueberries. I eat blueberries a lot and find that they have a good effect >against free radicals and help in detoxification. > >-=mark=- We have blueberries and huckleberries. The huckleberries are higher than a low bush blueberry and shorter than a high bush blueberry. They're darker, meatier and sweeter too I think. The plant is distintive from the blueberry too in stem color and leaves. I researched the Latin names at one point after reading Thoreau's Wild Fruits (found and published after his death) and seeing his comparison of U.S. berries to Northern Europe's. There is a slight difference in the blueberry and huckleberry Latin name between continents. Bilberry is what the U.K. calls the huckleberry. Sounds better than marketing huckleberry as an herbal treatment I guess. :-) Wanita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 --- A few years ago I bought " huckleberry " seeds from Guerney's or Stokes which was an annual. They were supposed to be good for muffins. The berries looked like small blueberries and were supposedly sour when fresh picked. I never got anything baked with them so have no idea how well they baked. I tried growing them another year but didn't get any fruit. Dennis In @y..., Wanita Sears <wanitawa@b...> wrote: > At 09:01 AM 10/13/02 -0700, you wrote: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2002 Report Share Posted October 15, 2002 At 11:01 PM 10/14/02 +0000, you wrote: >--- A few years ago I bought " huckleberry " seeds from Guerney's or >Stokes which was an annual. They were supposed to be good for >muffins. The berries looked like small blueberries and were >supposedly sour when fresh picked. I never got anything baked with >them so have no idea how well they baked. I tried growing them >another year but didn't get any fruit. Dennis I've seen those in seed catalogs, Dennis. Thought they were the true native variety like the native plums we got but then noticed they were an annual. We've got a small circular patch of huckleberry, much less than highbush blueberry. My Dad said it was huckleberry when I told him of the difference between the plants and berries. Said there was more huckleberry than blueberry around here when he was young. The year we had sheep they chewed it down to the ground. Took a few years to come back but it came back better. On a good year there are only a few cups we get from there. This year was the worst for the blueberries. One late cold night and the area open to the north killed most of the blossoms. Anyone want to start a Jerusalem artichoke patch? I've got 3 lbs. in my fridge I didn't eat from last year that are sprouting. 1/3 of them are red skinned. Will need to dig this year's crop after plant die off and a few more frosts. I'll ship some to anyone who wants some if you'll return the postage to me. Let me know private email. Wanita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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