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Bog Berries

THE CRANE'S RED BERRY

Traditionally a sauce made from Cranberries is eaten with turkey at Christmas. But did you know that cranberries grow in bogs? The plant has skinny stems with tiny oval-shaped leaves, that creep along the bog moss cushions. The beautiful pink flowers of cranberry are seen in summer. The plant is called cranberry because the unopened flower on its long slender stalk looks a bit like a crane's head and neck. The red berries are found in Autumn. Cranberries are twice the size of a pea. The berries ripen slowly. They have a sour taste because they are full of acids. Sometimes the berries are still found the year after they are produced because they also contain a natural preservative that prevents them rotting. At this time they are a deep red colour and much softer and sweeter. But they are also very difficult to pick because the skin breaks easily. Cranberries grow in the wettest parts of the bog, so when you're picking them you're also sinking fast! It's definitely easier to buy cranberries from the grocer!

Figure 1: Shows the cranberry, its red berries are found on Irish bogs in Autumn. They can be used to make sauce, drinks and juices. They are difficult to pick as they usually grow in the wettest parts of the bog. Photo: © Catherine O'Connell

BILBERRY - SWEET AND VERY TASTY

Bilberry, blueberry, blaeberry, whortleberry, whinberry, huckleberry, wimberry and frochan are all the same thing. They are the tastiest berries found in the bog and make a great flavour in muffins, yogurt, ice cream, jellybeans or eaten raw with ice cream. Bilberry is a bushy plant with green stems and bright green leaves. It grows in lowland and mountain bogs in the areas that are flushed with running water most of the time. The flowers of bilberry are greenish pink in colour and are produced in spring. The bluey/grey berries are gathered in summer. In some parts of the country a blueberry fair is held on the last Sunday in July to celebrate these tasty berries. Bilberries are not just good to eat, their juice can be used to make a purple die to colour paper, cloth and wool!

Figure 2: The bilberry is the tastiest of all the bog berries. They can be used to flavour muffins, yogurt, ice cream and many more treats. Photo: © Peter Foss

THE STEELY BLACK CROWBERRY

Bet you've never heard of Crowberry! It's another bog plant with black berries. The berries are edible, but birds, and animals eat most of them. People don't like them. Crowberry grows like a flattened bush on top of hummocks in the drier parts of the bog. The shiny black berries are the size of a pea and provide food for birds such as grouse.

Figure 3: The crowberry is mainly eaten by birds and animals. The plant grows on the drier hummocks of the bog. Photo: © Peter Foss