Finland Postcard

Finland Postcard
Post Marke ; 25/01/2008 - Rovaniemi
Stamp ;

24.08.2006 Agriculture & Food (Food & Cooking) Flora (Fruit)

Blueberry - Vaccinium myrtillu
Face Value ; 1 LK (KL)
Size ; 27 x 38

Blueberry - Vaccinium myrtillu

Blueberries are flowering plants in the genus Vacinnium,Cyanococcus. The species are native only to North America. They are shrubs varying in size from 10 cm tall to 4 m tall; the smaller species are known as "lowbush blueberries", and the larger species as "highbush blueberries". The leaves can be either deciduous or evergreen, ovate to lanceolate, and from 1-8 cm long and 0.5-3.5 cm broad. The flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red, sometimes tinged greenish.
The fruit is a false berry 5-16 mm diameter with a flared "crown" at the end; they are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple, and finally indigo on ripening. They have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity. Blueberry bushes typically bear fruit from May through October; "blueberry season" peaks in July, which is National Blueberry Month in the United States and Canada.
All species whose English common names include "blueberry" are currently classified in section Cyanococcus of the genus Vaccinium. Several other plants of the genus Vaccinium also produce blue berries which are sometimes confused with blueberries, mainly the predominantly European bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), which in many languages has a name that means "blueberry" in English. See the Identification section for more information.
Although blueberries are native to North America, they are now grown also in Australia, New Zealand and South American countries and are air-shipped as fresh produce to markets around the world.
Beginning in 2005, blueberries have been discussed among a category of functional foods called superfruits having the favorable combination of nutrient richness, antioxidant strength, emerging research evidence for health benefits and versatility for manufacturing popular consumer products.