Editing Vaccinium vitis-idaea

{{Short description|Species of shrub with edible fruit}}
{{Redirect-distinguish|Lingonberry|Loganberry}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Lingonberry
| image = Vaccinium vitis-idaea 20060824 003.jpg
| image_caption = ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' var. ''vitis-idaea'' surrounded by [[Cladonia rangiferina|reindeer lichen]]
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status = LC
| status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Maiz-Tome, L. |date=2016 |title=''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' |page=e.T18748884A78457217 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T18748884A78457217.en |access-date=24 October 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web |title=''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''. NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129786/Vaccinium_vitis-idaea |website=explorer.natureserve.org}}</ref>
| genus = Vaccinium
| species = vitis-idaea
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] 1753
| synonyms_ref = <ref>[http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2457314 ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' L. ] '' The Plant List, www.theplantlist.org''</ref>
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|title=<small>Synonymy</small>
|''Myrtillus exigua'' <small>Bubani</small>
|''Rhodococcum vitis-idaea'' <small>Avrorin</small>
|''Vaccinium jesoense'' <small>Miq.</small>
|''Vitis-idaea punctata'' <small>Moench</small>
|''Vitis-idaea punctifolia'' <small>Gray</small>
|''Rhodococcum minus'' <small>(Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Avrorin</small>
|''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus'' <small>Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.</small>
|''Vitis-idaea punctata'' var. ''minor'' <small>(Lodd., G.Lodd. & W.Lodd.) Moldenke </small>
}}}}

'''''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''''' is a small [[evergreen]] shrub in the heath family, [[Ericaceae]]. It is known colloquially as the '''lingonberry''', '''partridgeberry''',{{efn|This name usually refers to ''[[Mitchella repens]]''.}} '''foxberry''', '''mountain cranberry''', or '''cowberry'''. It is native to [[boreal forest]] and [[Arctic tundra]] throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Commercially cultivated in the United States [[Pacific Northwest]]<ref>"Economic Evaluation of Lingonberry Production in Oregon" "Oregon State University Extension Service" Dec 2003 [https://web.archive.org/web/20060901173125/http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8847.pdf]</ref> and the [[Netherlands]],<ref name="Rozāne" /> the edible berries are also picked in the wild and used in various dishes, especially in Nordic cuisine.

==Description==
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' spreads by [[rhizome|underground stems]] to form dense [[clonal colony|clonal colonies]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vaccinium vitis-idaea {{!}} Landscape Plants {{!}} Oregon State University |url=https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/vaccinium-vitis-idaea |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu}}</ref> Slender and brittle [[root]]s grow from the underground stems. The stems are rounded in cross-section and grow from {{convert|10|to|40|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in height. Leaves grow [[phyllotaxis#Leaf arrangement|alternately]] and are oval, {{convert|5|-|30|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} long, with a slightly wavy margin, and sometimes with a notched tip.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The [[flower]]s are bell-shaped, white to pale pink, {{convert|3|-|8|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} long.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bunney |first=Sarah |title=The illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs and their Medicinal and Culinary Uses |publisher=Dorset Press |year=1984 |isbn=0-88029-774-3 |edition=2nd |location=New York |pages=292}}</ref> ''V.&nbsp;vitis-idaea'' begins to produce flowers from five to ten years of age.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ritchie |first=J. C. |date=1955 |title=Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea L. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2257030 |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=701–708 |doi=10.2307/2257030 |jstor=2257030 |bibcode=1955JEcol..43..701R |issn=0022-0477}}</ref> They are pollinated by multiple insect species, including ''[[Andrena lapponica]]'' and several species of [[bumblebee]].<ref name=":0" />

The fruit is a red [[berry (botany)|berry]] {{convert|6|-|10|mm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} across, with an acidic taste, ripening in late summer to autumn.<ref name="FNA">Flora of North America: [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200016732 ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'']</ref> While bitter early in the season, they sweeten if left on the branch through winter.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Niering |first1=William A. |author-link1=William Niering| last2=Olmstead |first2=Nancy C. |title=The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region |year=1985 |orig-year=1979|publisher=Knopf |isbn=0-394-50432-1 |page=510}}</ref> Cytology is 2n = 24.<ref name="y832">{{cite journal | last=Redpath | first=Lauren E. | last2=Aryal | first2=Rishi | last3=Lynch | first3=Nathan | last4=Spencer | first4=Jessica A. | last5=Hulse-Kemp | first5=Amanda M. | last6=Ballington | first6=James R. | last7=Green | first7=Jaimie | last8=Bassil | first8=Nahla | last9=Hummer | first9=Kim | last10=Ranney | first10=Thomas | last11=Ashrafi | first11=Hamid | title=Nuclear DNA contents and ploidy levels of North American Vaccinium species and interspecific hybrids | journal=Scientia Horticulturae | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=297 | year=2022 | issn=0304-4238 | doi=10.1016/j.scienta.2022.110955 | page=110955| doi-access=free }}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Image:Vaccinium vitis-idaea L..jpg|19th-century illustration
File:Vaccinium vitis-idaea (flowering).jpg|Flowers
Image:Vaccinium vitisidaea flower.jpg|Flowers and young shoots
File:Vaccinium vitis-idaea and Empetrum nigrum 20230823.jpg|''V. vitis-idaea'' and ''[[Empetrum nigrum]]'' in [[Denali National Park]]
File:Tyttebær.jpg|Ripe lingonberries
</gallery>

=== Related species ===
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024}}

''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' differs from the related [[cranberries]] in having white flowers with petals partially enclosing the stamens and stigma, rather than pink flowers with petals reflexed backwards, and rounder, less pear-shaped berries.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} ''[[Vaccinium oxycoccos]]'' is similar.<ref name="tktimb">{{Cite book |last1=Turner |first1=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VLbAAwAAQBAJ |title=Trees & Shrubs of the Pacific Northwest |last2=Kuhlmann |first2=Ellen |date=2014 |publisher=[[Timber Press]] |isbn=978-1-60469-263-1 |edition=1st |location=Portland, OR |pages=184}}</ref>

[[Hybrid plant|Hybrids]] between ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' and ''[[Vaccinium myrtillus|V. myrtillus]]'', named ''Vaccinium × intermedium'' [[Johann Friedrich Ruthe|Ruthe]], are occasionally found in Europe.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

== Taxonomy ==

=== Varieties ===
[[Image:Vaccinium vitis-idaea var minus Denali AK.jpg|thumb|''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus'']]There are two regional [[variety (botany)|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.—[[synonym (taxonomy)|syn.]] ''V. vitis-idaea'' subsp. ''vitis-idaea''.<br />''cowberry''. Eurasia. Leaves are {{convert|10|-|30|mm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} long.
* ''V. vitis-idaea'' var. ''minus'' Lodd.—syn. ''V. vitis-idaea'' subsp. ''minus'' (Lodd.) Hultén.<br />''lingonberry''. North America. Leaves are {{convert|5|-|18|mm|in|frac=8|abbr=on}} long.<ref name="FNA" />

=== Etymology ===
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is most commonly known in English as 'lingonberry' or 'cowberry'.<ref name="stang">{{cite book |author1=Elden J. Stang |url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-321.html |title=Advances in new crops |author2=Gavin G. Weis |author3=John Klueh |publisher=Timber Press |year=1990 |editor1=J. Janick |pages=321–323 |chapter=Lingonberry: Potential New Fruit for the Northern United States |editor2=J.E. Simon |name-list-style=amp}}</ref><ref name="Gray's Manual of Botany">Gray's Manual of Botany: [[Asa Gray]]</ref><ref name="USDA">{{PLANTS|symbol=VAVI|taxon=Vaccinium vitis-idaea}}</ref> The name 'lingonberry' originates from the Swedish name {{Lang|sv|lingon}} ({{IPA|sv|ˈlɪŋɔn||audio=sv-lingon.ogg}}) for the species deriving from [[Old Norse]] ''lyngr'', a cognate (thus also a doublet) to '[[Calluna|ling]]'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=de Vries |first1=Jan |title=Altnordisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch |date=1962 |publisher=Brill |page=370}}</ref>

The [[binomial nomenclature|genus name]] ''Vaccinium'' is a [[classical Latin]] name for a plant, possibly the [[Vaccinium myrtillus|bilberry]] or [[hyacinth (plant)|hyacinth]], and may be derived from the Latin {{Lang|la|bacca}}, 'berry'.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hyam |first1=R. |title=Plants and their names : a concise dictionary |last2=Pankhurst |first2=R.J. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-19-866189-4 |location=Oxford |name-list-style=amp}} p. 515.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Coombes |first=Allen J. |title=Dictionary of Plant Names |publisher=Hamlyn Books |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-600-58187-1 |location=London}} p. 187.</ref> The specific name is derived from Latin {{Lang|la|vitis}} ('vine') and {{Lang|la|idaea}}, the feminine form of {{Lang|la|idaeus}} (literally 'from [[Mount Ida]]', used in reference to raspberries ''[[Rubus idaeus]]'').<ref name="mw">{{cite dictionary |title=idaein |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idaein}}</ref><ref name="bo">{{cite web |date=19 January 2019 |title=Raspberries |url=http://www.botanical-online.com/english/raspberry.htm |publisher=Botanical-online}}</ref>

Worldwide, ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is known by at least 25 other common English names, including:<ref name="stang" />

{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* bearberry
* beaverberry
* cougarberry
* foxberry
* lowbush cranberry
* mountain bilberry
* mountain cranberry
* partridgeberry<ref name="Hall">{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Joan Houston|year=2002|title=Dictionary of American Regional English|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|page=47|isbn=0-674-00884-7|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i33BWgxbvXgC&pg=PA47 |access-date=2007-11-16}}</ref> (in [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] and [[Cape Breton Island]])
* quailberry
* red whortleberry
* redberry (in [[Labrador]] and the [[Le Golfe-du-Saint-Laurent Regional County Municipality|Lower North Shore]] of [[Quebec]])
{{Div col end}}

==Distribution and habitat==
It is [[Native species|native]] to [[boreal forest]] and [[Arctic tundra]] throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including Eurasia and North America.

==Ecology==
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' keeps its leaves all winter even in the coldest years, unusual for a [[flowering plant|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 −50&nbsp;°F (−45&nbsp;°C) 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]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

== Conservation ==
The plant is endangered in [[Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Plants Profile for Vaccinium vitis-idaea (ligonberry) |url=https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=vavi |access-date=7 January 2018 |website=plants.usda.gov}}</ref> The ''minus'' subspecies is listed as a species of special concern and believed [[Local extinction|extirpated]] in [[Connecticut]].<ref>[http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ets15.pdf "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"]. State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved 7 January 2017. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.142000/Vaccinium_vitis-idaea_ssp_minus |access-date=8 December 2022 |website=explorer.natureserve.org}}</ref>

== Cultivation ==
Lingonberry has been commercially cultivated in the [[Netherlands]],  Germany, Sweden, Poland, the USA and Latvia since the 1960s.<ref name="Rozāne">{{cite news |last1=Rozāne |first1=Keita |title=Plant wonders: Healthy lingonberries can be grown in the garden, too |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/environment/plant-wonders-healthy-lingonberries-can-be-grown-in-the-garden-too.a385290/ |access-date=26 May 2021 |work=eng.lsm.lv |publisher=[[Public Broadcasting of Latvia]] |date=24 May 2021}}</ref>

Some [[cultivar]]s 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/100988/Vaccinium-vitis-idaea-Koralle-Group/Details |title=RHS Plant Selector Vaccinium vitis-idaea Koralle Group AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2021-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 106 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date = 5 February 2019}}</ref>

== Uses ==

=== Culinary ===
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2024}}
{{stack|
[[Image:LingonberryJam.jpeg|thumb|[[Lingonberry jam]] on toast.]]
[[Image:Mustamakkara2019.jpg|thumb|Lingonberry jam with ''[[mustamakkara]]'', a traditional food in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]].]]
[[Image:Koettbullar stockholm2006.jpg|thumb|Swedish meatballs served with a side of lingonberry jam.]]
}}
Raw lingonberries are 86% water, 13% [[carbohydrate]]s, 1% [[protein (nutrient)|protein]], and contain negligible [[fat]].<ref name="foodcomp">{{cite web |date=2009-01-13 |title=Lingonberry, raw - Nutrition Information and Facts |url=https://frida.fooddata.dk/food/769?lang=en |access-date=2015-09-17 |website=Department of Nutrition, National Food Institute - Technical University of Denmark}}</ref> In a {{convert|100|g|oz|abbr=off|adj=on}} reference amount, lingonberries supply 54 kcal, and are low-to-moderate sources of [[vitamin C]], [[B vitamin]]s, and [[mineral (nutrient)|dietary minerals]].<ref name="foodcomp" />

The berries collected in the wild are a popular fruit in northern, central and eastern Europe, notably in the Nordic countries,<ref>{{cite web |last=Åkerström |first=Lola Akinmade |title=10 things to know about Sweden's food culture |url=http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Food-drink/Reading/10-things-to-know-about-Swedens-food-culture/ |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120712193126/http%3A//www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Lifestyle/Food%2Ddrink/Reading/10%2Dthings%2Dto%2Dknow%2Dabout%2DSwedens%2Dfood%2Dculture/ |archive-date=2012-07-12 |access-date=26 August 2013 |work=10 July 2012 |publisher=Sweden.se}}</ref> the Baltic states, central and northern Europe. In some areas, they can be picked legally on both public and private lands in accordance with the [[freedom to roam]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Picking flowers, berries, mushrooms, etc.|url=http://www.swedishepa.se/Enjoying-nature/The-Right-of-Public-Access/This-is-allowed/Picking-flowers-berries-mushrooms-etc/|website=The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency|publisher=Naturvårdsverket|access-date=13 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313201841/http://www.swedishepa.se/Enjoying-nature/The-Right-of-Public-Access/This-is-allowed/Picking-flowers-berries-mushrooms-etc/|archive-date=2016-03-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The berries are quite tart, so they are often cooked and sweetened before eating in the form of [[lingonberry jam]], compote, juice, smoothie or syrup. The raw fruits are also frequently simply mashed with sugar, which preserves most of their nutrients and taste. This mix can be stored at room temperature in closed but not necessarily sealed containers, but in this condition, they are best preserved frozen. Fruit served this way or as compote often accompanies game and liver dishes.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In [[Sweden]] the traditional [[Swedish meatballs]] are served with lingonberry jam alongside boiled or mashed potatoes and gravy sauce. In Sweden, [[Finland]] and [[Norway]], [[reindeer]] and [[moose|elk]] steaks are traditionally served with gravy and lingonberry sauce. Preserved fruit is commonly eaten with meatballs, as well as potato pancakes. A traditional Swedish dessert is {{Lang|sv|lingonpäron}} (literally 'lingonberry pears'), consisting of fresh [[pear]]s which are peeled, boiled and preserved in {{Lang|sv|lingondricka}} ([[lingonberry juice]]) and is commonly eaten during Christmas. This was very common in old times{{When|date=January 2024}}, because it was an easy and tasty way to preserve pears. In Sweden and [[Russia]], when [[sugar]] was still a luxury item, the berries were usually preserved simply by putting them whole into bottles of water. This was known as {{Lang|sv|vattlingon}} (watered lingonberries); the procedure preserved them until next season. This was also a home remedy against [[scurvy]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

This traditional Russian soft drink, known as "[[lingonberry water]]", is mentioned by [[Alexander Pushkin]] in ''[[Eugene Onegin]]''. In Russian [[traditional medicine|folk medicine]], lingonberry water was used as a mild laxative. A traditional Finnish dish is [[sautéed reindeer]] ({{Lang|fi|poronkäristys}}) with mashed potatoes and lingonberries on the side, either raw, thawed or as a jam. In Finland, whipped [[semolina pudding]] flavored with lingonberry ({{Lang|fi|puolukkapuuro}}) is also popular. In [[Poland]], the berries are often mixed with [[pear]]s to create a sauce served with poultry or game. The berries can also be used to replace redcurrants when creating [[Cumberland sauce]].{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The berries are also popular as a wild picked fruit in [[Eastern Canada]], for example in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] and [[Cape Breton Island|Cape Breton]], where they are locally known as partridgeberries or redberries, and on the mainland of Nova Scotia, where they are known as foxberries. In this region they are incorporated into jams, syrups, and baked goods, such as pies, scones, and muffins.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In Sweden lingonberries are often sold as jam and juice, and as a key ingredient in dishes. They are used to make Lillehammer berry liqueur; and, in East European countries, lingonberry [[vodka]] is sold, and vodka with lingonberry juice or [[Mors (drink)|''mors'']] is a cocktail.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

The berries are an important food for bears and foxes, and many fruit-eating birds. Caterpillars of the case-bearer moths ''[[Coleophora glitzella]]'', ''[[Coleophora idaeella]]'' and ''[[Coleophora vitisella]]'' are obligate feeders on ''V. vitis-idaea'' leaves.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==== Indigenous North American cuisine ====
[[Alaska natives]] mix the berries with [[rose hip]] pulp and sugar to make jam, cook the berries as a sauce, and store the berries for future use.<ref>Heller, Christine A., 1953, Edible and Poisonous Plants of Alaska, University of Alaska, page 109</ref> The [[Dakelh]] use the berries to make jam.<ref>Carrier Linguistic Committee, 1973, Plants of Carrier Country, Fort St. James, BC. Carrier Linguistic Committee, page 76</ref> The [[Koyukon]] freeze the berries for winter use.<ref>Nelson, Richard K., 1983, Make Prayers to the Raven&mdash;A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest, Chicago. The University of Chicago Press, page 55</ref> [[Inuit]] dilute and sweeten the juice to make a beverage, freeze and store the berries for spring, and use the berries to make jams and jellies.<ref>Porsild, A.E., 1953, Edible Plants of the Arctic, Arctic 6:15-34, page 22 Note: The source simply lists "Eskimo" rather than a specific group.</ref> The [[Iñupiat]] use the berries to make two different desserts, one in which the berries are whipped with frozen fish eggs and eaten, and one in which raw berries are mashed with canned milk and seal oil. They also make a dish of the berries cooked with fish eggs, fish (whitefish, [[sheefish]] or [[Esox|pike]]) and [[blubber]].<ref>Jones, Anore, 1983, Nauriat Niginaqtuat = Plants That We Eat, Kotzebue, Alaska. Maniilaq Association Traditional Nutrition Program, page 86</ref>

The [[Tanana Athabaskans|Upper Tanana]] boil the berries with sugar and flour to thicken; eat the raw berries, either plain or mixed with sugar, grease or a combination of the two; fry them in grease with sugar or dried fish eggs; or make them into pies, jam, and jelly. They also preserve the berries alone or in grease and store them in a birchbark basket in an underground cache, or freeze them.<ref name="Kari, Priscilla Russe 1985, page 9">Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 9</ref>

===== Use of the ''minus'' subspecies =====
The [[Anticosti]] people use the fruit to make jams and jellies.<ref>Rousseau, Jacques, 1946, Notes Sur L'ethnobotanique D'anticosti, Archives de Folklore 1:60-71, page 68</ref> The Nihithawak [[Cree]] store the berries by freezing them outside during the winter, mix the berries with boiled fish eggs, livers, air bladders and fat and eat them, eat the berries raw as a snack food, or stew them with fish or meat.<ref name="Leighton, Anna L. 1985, page 64">Leighton, Anna L., 1985, Wild Plant Use by the Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 64</ref> The [[Iñupiat]] of [[Nelson Island (Alaska)|Nelson Island]] eat the berries,<ref>Ager, Thomas A. and Lynn Price Ager, 1980, Ethnobotany of The Eskimos of Nelson Island, Alaska, Arctic Anthropology 27:26-48, page 37</ref> as do the Iñupiat of the Northern Bering Sea and Arctic regions of Alaska,<ref>Anderson, J. P., 1939, Plants Used by the Eskimo of the Northern Bering Sea and Arctic Regions of Alaska, American Journal of Botany 26:714-16, page 715</ref> as well as the [[Inuvialuit]].<ref name="Wilson, Michael R. 1978, page 183">Wilson, Michael R., 1978, Notes on Ethnobotany in Inuktitut, The Western Canadian Journal of Anthropology 8:180-196, page 183</ref> The [[Haida people]], [[Hesquiaht First Nation]], [[Wuikinuxv]] and [[Tsimshian]] all use the berries as food.<ref>Compton, Brian Douglas, 1993, Upper North Wakashan and Southern Tsimshian Ethnobotany: The Knowledge and Usage of Plants..., Ph.D. Dissertation, University of British Columbia, page 101</ref>

=== Traditional medicine ===
In [[traditional medicine]], ''V. vitis-idaea'' was used as an [[apéritif]] and [[astringent]].<ref name="jad">{{cite web |author=James A. Duke |title=''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' (Ericaceae) |publisher=Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/ethnobot.pl?ethnobot.taxon=Vaccinium%20vitis-idaea |access-date=May 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120082334/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/ethnobot.pl?ethnobot.taxon=Vaccinium%20vitis-idaea |archive-date=January 20, 2009 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The Upper Tanana ate the berries or used their juice to treat minor respiratory disorders.<ref name="Kari, Priscilla Russe 1985, page 9" />

=== Other uses ===
The Nihithawak Cree use the berries of the ''minus'' subspecies to color [[porcupine]] quills, and put the firm, ripe berries on a string to wear as a necklace.<ref name="Leighton, Anna L. 1985, page 64" /> The [[Western Canadian Inuit]] use the ''minus'' subspecies as a tobacco additive or substitute.<ref name="Wilson, Michael R. 1978, page 183" />

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|1}}

== External links ==
{{Cookbook|Lingonberry}}
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Non-timber forest products|state=expanded}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q93235}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Vaccinium|vitis-idaea]]
[[Category:Alpine flora]]
[[Category:Berries]]
[[Category:Flora of Eastern Canada]]
[[Category:Flora of Europe]]
[[Category:Flora of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Flora of Subarctic America]]
[[Category:Flora of temperate Asia]]
[[Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States]]
[[Category:Flora of Western Canada]]
[[Category:Flora of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Groundcovers]]
[[Category:Japanese fruit]]
[[Category:Least concern flora of North America]]
[[Category:Least concern flora of the United States]]
[[Category:Least concern plants]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1753]]
[[Category:Plants used in Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine]]
[[Category:Subshrubs]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]