Vaccinium bracteatum explained

Vaccinium bracteatum, the sea bilberry or Asiatic bilberry, is a species of Vaccinium native to Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, Korea, southeast and south central China, Hainan, Taiwan, mainland Southeast Asia, Java, and Sumatra.^[1] It is a small tree or large shrub, with dark purple edible fruit. It is in semi-cultivation in China. Local people collect and consume the fruit, and in addition extract a bluish-violet dye from the leaves, which is used as a hair dye, for coloring vinegar, and in cooking. The dye turns black when cooked with rice, providing culinary interest.^{[2] [3]}

Varieties

The following varieties are currently accepted:^[1]

• Vaccinium bracteatum var. chinense (Champ. ex Benth.) Chun ex Sleumer
• Vaccinium bracteatum var. obovatum C.Y.Wu & R.C.Fang
• Vaccinium bracteatum var. rubellum P.S.Hsu, J.X.Qiu, S.F.Huang & Y.Zhang
• Vaccinium bracteatum var. thysanocalyx (Dop) Smitinand & P.H.Hô

Notes and References

1. Web site: Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. . . 2017 . Plants of the World Online . Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . 8 October 2020 .
2. 10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111862 . A novel green synthesis approach for natural bluish-violet pigments derived from water extracts of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. Leaves . 2019 . Lian . Weijia . Fan . Mingcong . Li . Tingting . Zhang . Xuetong . Rao . Zhiming . Li . Yan . Qian . Haifeng . Zhang . Hui . Qi . Xiguang . Wang . Li . Industrial Crops and Products . 142 . 111862 .
3. 10.1007/s10068-017-0126-y . Effect of superfine grinding on properties of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb leaves powder . 2017 . Jiang . Li . Xu . Qi-Xin . Qiao . Mu . Ma . Fei-Fei . Thakur . Kiran . Wei . Zhao-Jun . Food Science and Biotechnology . 26 . 6 . 1571–1578 . 30263694 . 6049701 .