Roger Phillips

Bilberry or Whortleberry

Appears in
top 1000Wild Food
Wild Food

By Roger Phillips

Published 1986

  • About

Vaccinium myrtillus A deciduous undershrub, common through most of the British Isles, but becoming local in England towards the south-east and absent from several countries in the east and East Midlands. It is found on heaths, moors and woods, and on acid soils, and it flowers from April to June and bears fruit from July to September.

Bilberries have many local names, from whortleberry to blaeberry; Thomas Hardy called them black-hearts. Collecting large quantities for pies and puddings may be an act of love but just tasting a few is something all children adore.