Vaccinium vitis-idaea, the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe and Asia to North America. Lingonberries are picked in the wild and used to accompany a variety of dishes in Northern Baltoscandia, Russia, Canada and Alaska. Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in many other regions of the world.
Ripe lingonberries
Names
Vaccinium vitis-idaea is most commonly known in English as 'lingonberry' or 'cowberry'.[5][6][7][8] The name 'lingonberry' originates from the Swedish name lingon for the species, and is derived from the Norse lyngr, or heather.
The genus name Vaccinium is a classical Latin name for a plant, possibly the bilberry or hyacinth, and may be derived from the Latin bacca, 'berry'.[9][10] The specific name is derived from Latin vitis ('vine') and idaea, the feminine form of idaeus (literally 'from Mount Ida', used in reference to raspberries Rubus idaeus).[11][12]
There are at least 25 other common English names of Vaccinium vitis-idaea worldwide, including:[5]
foxberry
quailberry
bearberry
beaverberry
mountain cranberry
red whortleberry
lowbush cranberry
cougarberry
mountain bilberry
partridgeberry[13] (in Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island)
redberry (in Labrador and the Lower North Shore of Quebec)
Description
Flowers and young shoots
Vaccinium vitis-idaea spreads by underground stems to form dense clonal colonies. Slender and brittle roots grow from the underground stems. The stems are rounded in cross-section and grow from 10 to 40 cm (4 to 16 in) in height. Leaves grow alternately and are oval, 5–30 mm (1⁄4–1+1⁄8 in) long, with a slightly wavy margin, and sometimes with a notched tip.
Flowers
The flowers are bell-shaped, white to pale pink, 3–8 mm (1⁄8–3⁄8 in) long, and produced in the early summer.
The fruit is a red berry 6–10 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) across, with an acidic taste, ripening in late summer to autumn.[7][14] While bitter early in the season, they sweeten if left on the branch through winter
Conservation status in the United States
The plant is endangered in Michigan. The minus subspecies is listed as a species of special concern and believed extirpated in Connecticut.
Ecology
Vaccinium vitis-idaea keeps its leaves all winter even in the coldest years, unusual for a broad-leaved plant, though in its natural habitat it is usually protected from severe cold by snow cover. It is extremely hardy, tolerating temperatures as low as −40 °C (−40 °F) or lower, but grows poorly where summers are hot. It prefers some shade (as from a forest canopy) and constantly moist, acidic soil. Nutrient-poor soils are tolerated but not alkaline soils.
Varieties
Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus
There are two regional varieties or subspecies of V. vitis-idaea, one in Eurasia and one in North America, differing in leaf size:
V. vitis-idaea var. vitis-idaea L. — syn. V. vitis-idaea subsp. vitis-idaea.
Cowberry. Eurasia. Leaves 10–30 mm (1⁄2–1+1⁄4 in) long.[7]
V. vitis-idaea var. minus Lodd. — syn. V. vitis-idaea subsp. minus (Lodd.) Hultén.
Lingonberry. North America. Leaves 5–18 mm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) long.[14]
Cultivation
Lingonberry has been commercially cultivated in the Netherlands and other countries since the 1960s.[18] Empress Elizabeth ordered lingonberry to be planted all over Peterhof in 1745.[19]
Some cultivars are grown for their ornamental rather than culinary value. In the United Kingdom, the Koralle Group has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit
