WOODLAND AND WILD BERRIES IN GERMANY

This report contains results of research made during the last years at the Fungus Research Center in Munich on woodland and wild berries.
The analyses of composition, mineral content, and vitamins are given.
The woodland berries, namely blueberries, raspberries, red worthleberries, blackberries, and wild strawberries are described.
The analyses of wild berries, namely berries of Hippophae rhamnoides and rosehips, follows.

Woodland and wild berries are valuable products given to us by nature as a healthful variation of food.
Here are the results of research done on these berries during the last few years at the Fungus Research Center in Munich.

In Germany, 85% of the Blueberries, Vaccinium myrtillus L., grow in the area of the "Bayerischer Wald" (Bavarian Forest) and the "Oberpfalz". Depending upon weather conditions, anywhere between 900 and 4000 tons of berries are harvested per season.
These figures would be much if there wasn’t a lack of pickers.
An analysis of blueberries can be seen in the attached table.
The figures represent intermediate values.
As far as details are concerned, blueberries are extremely rich in potassium and phosphates.
They contain a good quantity of magnesium, calcium, manganese, and iron compounds, too.
Vitamins found were: carotene, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₂, nicotene-amid and vitamin C. Blueberries are very effective in any diet.
They are recommended more and more as a healthy food supplement.
Blueberry composition fluctuates due to climatic, soil- and altitude-conditions.
It was reported that the sugar-content, which dropped enormously in cold and wet seasons, reached more than 10% in sunny weather.

‘Moorbeeren’, the bog bilberry, Vaccinium uliginosum L., grows in marshy country, has dark blue berries, no flavour, and is of no

Symposium on Vaccinium Culture in Europe

W. Bötticher

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1977.61.39