| Vaccinium bracteatum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Foliage | |
| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Vaccinium |
| Species: | V. bracteatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. | |
| Synonyms | |
List
| |
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. 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.
Varieties
The following varieties are currently accepted:
- 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
References
- J.A.Murray (ed.), Syst. Veg. ed. 14: 363 (1784)
- ^ "Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb". Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
- Lian, Weijia; Fan, Mingcong; Li, Tingting; Zhang, Xuetong; Rao, Zhiming; Li, Yan; Qian, Haifeng; Zhang, Hui; Qi, Xiguang; Wang, Li (2019). "A novel green synthesis approach for natural bluish-violet pigments derived from water extracts of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. Leaves". Industrial Crops and Products. 142: 111862. doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.111862.
- Jiang, Li; Xu, Qi-Xin; Qiao, Mu; Ma, Fei-Fei; Thakur, Kiran; Wei, Zhao-Jun (2017). "Effect of superfine grinding on properties of Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb leaves powder". Food Science and Biotechnology. 26 (6): 1571–1578. doi:10.1007/s10068-017-0126-y. PMC 6049701. PMID 30263694.