Also called:
Part of
🫐 blueberry/​cranberry/​huckleberry/​lingonberry genus Vaccinium
in
heath / heather family Ericaceae.
Native all across the 🌐︎ Northern Hemisphere, in areas that are currently arctic tundra or taiga/boreal forest, but were glaciated during the Last Glacial Period: Alaska, 🇨🇦 Canada, northern continental 🇺🇸 USA, much of 🇪🇺 Europe (🇬🇧 UK, 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 🇸🇪 🇫🇮 Scandinavia, through the 🇪🇪 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 Baltics to 🇷🇺 Russia), and Siberia. And some nearby areas (e.g., 🇹🇷 Türkiye, 🇨🇳 China, and 🇯🇵 Japan).
🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48)
(color key).
Cultivated in areas a bit farther south.
Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)
Vaccinium hosts caterpillars of 288 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas.
Often grows in clonal colonies
[1]
— look around for other stems!