Vaccinium Myrtillus - Confusion Between Bilberries and American Blueberries

Confusion Between Bilberries and American Blueberries

Since most people in the world refer to "blueberries", no matter if they mean the European blueberry Vaccinium myrtillus or the American blueberries, there is a lot of confusion about the two nearly identical fruit worldwide. One can distinguish bilberries or European blueberries from their American counterpart by the following differences: bilberries have dark red, strongly fragrant flesh and red juice that turns blue in basic environments, while American blueberries have white or translucent, mildly fragrant flesh; the bilberries grow as single fruit on low bushes, usually wild in woods of the Northern Hemisphere, but American blueberries grow in a large bush with several fruit at once; bilberries are generally wild plants while American blueberries can be cultivated. Cultivated American blueberries often come from hybrid cultivars, developed about 100 years ago by agricultural specialists, most prominently by Elizabeth Coleman White, to meet growing consumer demand, since they are bigger, the bushes grow taller, and are easier to harvest. Bilberry fruit will stain hands, teeth and tongue deep blue or purple while eating; it was used as a dye for food and clothes. American blueberries of section Cyanococcus have white flesh, thus are less staining.

Adding to the confusion is the fact there are also wild American varieties, sold in stores mainly in the USA and Canada. Those are uncommon outside of Northern America, where either American or the European blueberries are prevalent.