Bog Bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) seeds

The bog bilberry is a low-growing shrub for the bog bed or pot cultivation that bears beautiful white blossoms and gets an impressive reddish leaf colouration in autumn. The berries can be compared to huckleberries, with which the plant is closely related. They are tasty and edible even though large quantities can lead to an intoxication effect if consumed raw. This isn't ascribed to the contained secondary plant compounds but to a parasitizing fungus.

Processed to marmalade or preserved as a fruit sauce, the fruit is unrestrictedly enjoyable. The raw bog bilberry, however, has probably already been used ritually since the Stone Age. The Germani pressed an intoxicating wine from the fruits which had presumably been used in drinking rituals. In Siberian shamanism, together with the fly agaric, it plays a large part.