On 6/14/19 4:23 PM, Nelly W wrote:
On 6/9/2019 5:25 AM, T wrote:
Hi All,
Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), not Blueberry!
I have been searching for Bilberry plants for a couple of
years now.Â* I have totally bombed ou8t trying to grow them
from seeds.
The closest I can find is on Flea Bay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-EUROPEAN-...AOSwGq5cRnZ K
Anyone know of a source other than Flea Bay?
Many thanks,
-T
Now...I may have this totally wrong but, the kind of berries you *might*
be talking about I have found in the farmer's market in Madison. Right,
WI. As if anyone cares.... Most horrible-tasting things to ever plummet
down my gullet, I truly assure....
And then again, I've a few years earlier found something I thought was
V. myrtillus (looks verymuch like BB) growing wild in E central VA.
They weren't much better.
(Maybe it was bearberry??)
Damned awful stuff, whatever it was. The both of them. But my thinking
is if it is pleasurable enough eating, mankind would've cultivated it
forever & a day ago.
Vent over.
Used to be some seedsmen who sold all manner of world-wide, off-the-wall
seeds. Lawd I miss their menus. If I happen across it again I'll holler.
Hi Nelly,
I have powdered Vaccinium myrtillus I use for my eyes. It tastes
slightly fruity and slightly sweet.
A bilberry looks exactly like a blueberry, except it does not have
the telltale four point crown at its end.
Vaccinium myrtillus claim to fame is that it likes cold climates,
which is why I am trying to grow it in zone 6c.
Just an aside, bilberry was disinformation put out by the British
during the Blitz on London during World War II. They said bilberry gave
their pilots better night vision to shoot down German aircraft.
The truth was it was a cover for radar. The Brits knew they were coming
and were laying and waiting for them
Bilberry is still great for your eyes though:
The effect of a natural, standardized bilberry extract
(Mirtoselect®) in dry eye: a randomized, double blinded,
placebo-controlled trial.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28617532
Neuroprotective effect of bilberry extract in a murine model of
photo-stressed retina.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28570634
I use it for vitreous detachment.
Biochem Pharmacol, 1983; 32: 53-8; Angiologica, 1972; 9: 355-74;
Minerva Med, 1977; 68: 3565-81
-T