Did you know that July 15th marks BC Blueberry Day? Blueberries are part of the Heather family, or the Ericaceae, along with cranberries, huckleberries, and azaleas. These plants usually love acidic and nutrient-poor soils, making them very common in bog ecosystems.
Salal (Gaultheria shallon), is also related to blueberries! This plant, which is native to the Pacific Northwest and has been used by Indigenous communities since time immemorial, has a really cool feature. If you turn the fruit, you can see a star shape at the end. Squeezing gently at the other end, the fruit will emerge, and a “flower” takes shape!
Lastly, blueberries technically aren’t blue. Despite their appearance, they do not contain any blue pigments! The colour we see is due to a thin layer of wax on the surface of the berry that causes blue light to scatter. Pretty cool!
Sources: https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.adk4219