Vaccinium vitis-idaea, SE: Lingon, DE: Preiselbeere,
NL: Rode bosbes, UK: Cowberry

Scientific name:  Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.
Swedish name:  Lingon, kröson
German name:  Preiselbeere
Nederlandse naam:  Rode bosbes
English name:  Cowberry, lingonberry
Family:  Ericaceae, Heather family, Ljungväxter

Vilda blommor i Sverige - Flowers in Sweden, Jamtland, Ragunda, Hammarstrand
Date Picture Taken: June 24, 2010

Life form:  Perennial shrub
Leaves:  Leathery, evergreen, oblong with both ends rounded
Flowers:  White bell-shaped flowers
Flowering Period:  May, June
Fruit:  Quite tart berries, almost always cooked and sweetened before eating in the form of lingonberry jam, compote, juice, or syrup
Habitat:  Bogs, marshes

Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Lingon, Preiselbeere, rode bosbes, Cowberry
Date Picture Taken: June 12, 2010


Derivation of the botanical name:
Vaccinium, from an old name used in the works of
Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro, 70-19 BCE) and Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, 23-79 CE).
vitis-idaea,Ιδα, grape of Mt Ida in Crete where Jupiter was hidden as an infant.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

In Sweden and Norway, reindeer and deer steak is traditionally served with gravy and lingonberry sauce;
Lingonberry preserve is commonly eaten with meatballs and potatoes.

Vaccinium vitis-idaea, SE Lingon, DE Preiselbeere, NL rode bosbes, UK Cowberry
Date Picture Taken: July 23, 2008


Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Lingon, Kröson, Preiselbeere, rode bosbes, Cowberry
Date Picture Taken: June 24, 2010


Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Lingon, Preiselbeere, rode bosbes, Cowberry
Date Picture Taken: April 11, 2009