Whortleberry (Vaccinium), a genus of small shrubs, of the natural order Vacciniaceæ, having a four- to five-toothed calyx, a four- to five-cleft bell-shaped or urceolate corolla, with the limb bent back, eight or ten stamens, with two-horned anthers, and a four- to five-celled many-seeded berry. The species are numerous, mostly natives of the northern parts of the world, with evergreen or deciduous, more or less ovate leaves. The Common Whortleberry, or Bilberry (V. myrtillus), called in Scotland the Blacberry, is very common in Britain, and in the middle and north of Europe. It is found also in Iceland and in the northern regions of North America. It varies from a few inches to almost 2 feet in height, and has ovate deciduous leaves, and dark purple berries, covered with a mealy bloom. A variety occurs, but rarely, with white berries. The berries are very sweet and agreeable, and are much used for making jelly and tarts; they are also eaten in Devonshire raw with clotted cream. The juice of the berries mixed with the powdered bark of alder and alum is employed by the women of northern Russia to dye their hair bright red. A kind of spirituous liquor is also made from them in Germany.
The Bog Whortleberry, or Great Bilberry (V. uliginosum), is common in the northern parts of Britain, and in the north of Europe and Asia. It is said to cover extensive tracts in Greenland. It grows in marshy situations, and is a taller plant than the common whortleberry. It has deciduous, obovate, entire leaves, and a fruit larger than the common whortleberry, and inferior to it in flavour. The fruit is said to cause giddiness when eaten in large quantity, and an intoxicating liquor is made from it. The Red Whortleberry (V. vitis-idaea) is found on the dry barren moors of Scotland (where it is called Cranberry, q.v.), in northern Europe, and America. The berries, dark red in colour, are acid, somewhat austere, and not so agreeable as the bilberry; yet they make an excellent jelly, which is esteemed for sore throats, and is much used by the Swedes as an accompaniment to venison and other roast meats. Many species of Vaccinium are in occasional cultivation as ornamental shrubs, and the fruit of most of them is agreeable, although in general it wants acidity. Huckleberry, a name of the Gaylussacia shrubs of North America, is sometimes given to the whortleberry, as is also Cowberry.