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Blueberry (bilberry)

Vaccinium myrtillus — Excellent edible.

Never eat a wild mushroom or plant identified only from a website, book or app. Several deadly species look almost identical to edible ones, and mistakes can be fatal. Learn from an experienced forager in person, be certain of every specimen, and when in doubt, throw it out.

What it is

The wild forest bilberry grows on knee-high shrubs and stains the mouth and fingers deep purple, unlike the paler cultivated blueberry. Picking it by hand or with a berry comb is a defining late-summer ritual in Finland, Estonia and Latvia.

Where and when to find it

Heathland and forest floor, very widespread. In season roughly July to September.

Look-alikes and safety

The wild bilberry has no dangerous look-alike among the low forest shrubs, but never eat an unknown blue or black berry from a bush or climber you cannot name — several garden and hedgerow berries are toxic.

Nutrition

About 57 kcal per 100 g, rich in the purple pigments called anthocyanins. As with all wild food, the health value only matters once you are completely certain of a safe identification.

More wild foods

Source: Edibility and look-alike notes follow standard mycological and botanical references for the region. This page is a starting reference, not an identification authority. · checked 2026-09-04

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