Wild Berries

Most of Finland is covered in forest. Finns are said to be a forest people, and indeed it is quite normal for the forest to reach right into the middle of large Finnish towns and cities. Finland’s forests, with respect to their vegetation and the species that inhabit them, belong to the diverse northern coniferous forest belt. In drier areas the main tree is the pine, while the spruce dominates in damper areas.

The forest also features a lot of different kinds of sprig plants, to which family the majority of wild berries belong. Berries also grow in expansive bog lands, which are a common feature in every area of Finland, especially in the north. Just like forest animals such as squirrels, bears and birds, people have also learned to use the fruits of the forest for a wide range of uses, and it is difficult to imagine a Finn who hasn’t spent time picking berries or tasted wild bilberries and mountain cranberries.

Mountain Cranberry (=lingonberry), Vaccinum vitis-idaea

Mountain cranberry generally grows all over the northern coniferous forest belt, and it is the most used berry in Finland. Mountain cranberry is an evergreen sprig plant whose runners grow in dry pine heath forests, although it can also be found on Lappish fells and in boggy forests. Although it is an evergreen, mountain cranberry thrives in cold conditions and does not like climates with hot summers. In barren soil mountain cranberry does well with the help of mushroom root, as this symbiosis with the mycelia multiplies its water and nutrient-absorbing surface-root area.

Mountain cranberry flowers abundantly in May in thin, light pine woods and along lichen-covered rocks. Plants can be hundreds of years old, because the tips continue to grow as old rhizomes rot. Mountain cranberry's Latin name means "vine of Mount Ida", the sacred mountain in Crete. The flowers must be fertilised by airborne insects, so good flying conditions produce a fine crop of berries. After a particularly good year, however, the plants will rest and produce fewer berries because they are unable to flower as profusely if they have delivered a good crop the previous year. Having said that, there is hardly a year when Finns are unable to enjoy red-cheeked mountain cranberries in glorious cool fresh autumn landscapes.

Mountain cranberry contains fruit acid, and their particularly high quantities of benzoic acid mean that they can be preserved by simply mashing them in their own juice. Mountain cranberries have a strong, sharp aroma, which combines well as an accompaniment for strongly flavoured food; in Finland it is especially popular with game and liver-based dishes. Mixing mountain cranberry with more mildly flavoured fruits and berries dilutes their acidity and highlights their fine aroma and sweetness.

Research has shown that mountain cranberry contains abundant amounts of proanthocyanidins, just like its cousin the cranberry. This is significant in natural medicine and is the reason that the mountain cranberry, like the cranberry, is used to treat problems in the urethra. Mountain cranberries also contain lignans, which are phytoestrogens that belong to a class of phenolic compounds. Phytoestrogens have been researched as protectors against hormonal cancers (breast cancer and prostate cancer) as well as heart and vascular disease. Of the other phenolic compounds, mountain cranberry contains the same amount of reservatrol as its better-known source grapes. The health benefits of reservatrol have been widely studied as it could help ward off diseases such as cancer, heart and vascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

Wild Cloudberry, Rubus chamaemorus

Cloudberry is the treasure of the Lappish bogs. It grows in forest bogs in the northern coniferous forest belt. Only the root survives the winter, so it can survive in more northerly conditions than most other berries, withstanding temperatures up to -40°C. In the spring, cloudberry plants grow short stems, which produce beautiful round-edged leaves and white flowers. Cloudberry spreads best by putting out runners, but extensive plant systems can grow without producing a single berry because both male and female plants are required for successful fertilisation. Apart from this, the cloudberry crop is above all dependent on the weather during the flowering period because its flowers shed their petals during rain and storms, leaving insects that would otherwise fertilise the plants with no way of finding them, even if the weather subsequently improves.

Cloudberries ripen after the middle of July. They are initially protected by their leaves and turn red where they face the sun, but as they ripen fully they are recognisable by their beautiful golden colour and their fragrant aroma. There have been attempts to cultivate cloudberry, but it has proved problematic.

The best cloudberry bogs are found in the Lapland wilderness and productive natural berry grounds are often well-guarded secrets, because cloudberries are a real delicacy in Finland and are a significant source of income for many wilderness enthusiasts. A real Lappish treat is oven-roasted unripened cheese with cloudberry jam. Cloudberry is not easy to pick because the berry bogs are far from the beaten path and pickers are harassed by bloodthirsty mosquitoes. Cloudberry is also useful in that it ensures that the bogs are not destroyed by draining or foresting them, because this would not reap nearly as big a reward as the cloudberry harvest provides.

Cloudberry is a fragrant fruit that contains abundant amounts of vitamins A, C and E. Although it has a very low acidity, it can be preserved by merely mashing it in its own juice because the benzoic acid it contains prevents the growth of mould, yeast and bacteria. Of the phenolic compounds, cloudberry is particularly high in ellagic tannin. According to Finnish research, cloudberry can help protect against the growth of harmful intestinal bacteria such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus and Campylobacteria without inhibiting probiotics, which are good for the stomach and digestion.

Wild Bilberry , Vaccinum myrtillus

Wild bilberry is a low-growing sprig plant which usually grows in Finnish forest heaths where spruce trees dominate. The best berry-picking areas are in sparse forest because wild bilberry needs direct sunlight to flower and make berries. In the far north wild bilberry thrives in drier forests and sunny fell slopes, but it can also be found in wooded and fertile wilderness bogs.

Wild bilberry sheds its leaves for the winter, but the sprigs' branches stay alive, protected underneath the snow. Wild bilberry's white flowers open in May and are very sensitive to frost, which means that the final crop is highly dependent on the weather at this time - if the frost kills the flowers, no berries will grow. Wild bilberries are the first Finnish berries to ripen, and the best time to pick them is within the first few weeks after they have matured at the end of July.

There is hardly a Finn alive who has not at some time visited bilberry grounds. Wild bilberry is highly appreciated for its fine flavour and its relative ease of picking. It has a mild and sweet flavour, but it does not contain much sugar - the sweet taste comes from its low acidity and the fact that its sweetness is to the fore, unlike other vaccinum family berries.
Wild bilberry is easy to find in the forest and berry-picking is everyone's right in Finland. The whole wild bilberry fruit is dark inside, and pickers can be easily recognised by their purple fingers and lips. Wild bilberry's dark colour comes from its anthocyanins, which are an average of four times higher in wild bilberry than they are in its cultivated cousin the blueberry.

Wild bilberries have a reputation in folk medicine for helping stomach problems, and dried berries in particular are used to treat children's diarrhoea. During the Second World War they were eaten by pilots to help improve their night vision

Wild Cranberry, Vaccinum oxycoccos

Wild cranberry is the berry of the wilderness bogs. It is relatively difficult to pick because it grows in open bogs that are difficult to reach. It is picked at the end of the autumn between the first frosts of September and October or November. The berries can also be picked in the spring because they survive the winter freeze thanks to the benzoic acid they contain. In the spring the berries are both softer and sweeter but, on the other hand, wild cranberry's large vitamin content is highest in ripe berries in the autumn. Wild cranberries live symbiotically with mushroom roots, which help the plants extract more nutrients from the soil.

Wild cranberry has been used in folk medicine, especially in Russia but also in Finland, and it used to be possible to buy wild cranberry syrup from the chemist to help urinary-tract, kidney and bladder problems, to lower stomach acidity and to treat fever. It also has a contracting effect on the mucous membrane and it works as a diuretic.

The efficiency of wild cranberry in treating urinary-tract infections is also recognised scientifically, and in Russia wild cranberry tincture is routinely used in hospitals to support the use of antibiotics in treating this problem. It has also been proven to have a particularly good effect on stopping the cycle of infection in chronic cases.

The effects of wild cranberry are based on one hand on its hippuric acid, which lowers the acidity of urine and therefore makes the urinary tract inhospitable to E. coli, which is the cause of these infections. On the other hand, wild cranberry contains important phenolic compounds such as tannins and proanthocyanidins. Tannins deactivate the fringes of infection-causing bacteria, which secrete adhesins to attach themselves to receptors in the mucous membrane. When bacteria are unable to attach themselves, they cannot multiply. The fructose in wild cranberry also has the same kind of effect. This mechanism has even been proved effective against bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics.

Tyrni, Hippophaë rhamnoides

Sea buckthorn grows along the barren sea coast. It needs a lot of light and cannot stand shade from other plants. Sea buckthorn is a successful pioneer along the coastline of the Gulf of Ostrobothnia, where the land is still rising out of the sea after being released from the pressure it was subjected to during the last Ice Age.

Sea buckthorn's extensive root system binds the coastal sand and its dense thorny branches, which can reach as much as four metres high, offer sanctuary to small birds. Sea buckthorn root contains nitrogen-fixing bacteria which allow the bush to thrive in poor soil.

Sea buckthorn is also cultivated in fields, and Finnish cultivation makes use of varieties which have been crossed with wild Finnish sea buckthorn, which is different from cultivated Russian and Chinese plants. Finland is home to the world's northernmost sea buckthorn cultivation fields and research seems to show that northern conditions increase the amount of protective nutrients in the berries.

Sea buckthorn is ready to be picked in late autumn when the air is already cooling down. The berries ripen when night-time temperatures dip below zero. The berries then soften, so that they are easier to pick from between the thorny branches.

Sea buckthorn’s Latin name means glossy-coated horse, and the plants were indeed fed by the ancient Romans to their horses to ward off parasites and keep the horse's coat in good condition. Sea buckthorn has been uses in folk medicine to contract the mucous membrane and for its antiseptic effect on skin rashes and infections, in treating burns and eye diseases, and helping problems with the digestive system.

Sea buckthorn is well known for its high vitamin content, especially vitamins C and E, which have an antioxidant effect. It also contains carotenoids and fatty acids (alpha-linoleic acid) which are important for our bodies. Another particular focus of research has been sea buckthorn's flavonoids, the composition of which are exceptional in the plant world. Researchers are especially interested in sea buckthorn's isorhamnetin flavonoid, which is known to have a beneficial effect on the heart, and Finnish research has proved that sea buckthorn oil promotes the absorption of isorhamnetin by the body and thus improves its bioavailability. Sea buckthorn's other flavonoids are quercetin and kaempherol.