Observation by Nicky Eiseman:
These berries were on a south slope in a recently burned area. Seems early to me!
Comment by LEO Network Editors:
This observation was shared with Katie Spellman from UAF who partners with LEO Network on the "Early Bloomers" project.
Katie Spellman, Ecologist at the UAF International Arctic Research Center, writes:
Hi Nicky! Thank you so much for sharing your observation of early ripening blueberries. These are looking pretty plump, too! We are tracking the phenology of berry species using pressed herbarium specimens, careful tracking, and observations like yours. Blueberry seems to be one of the more variable of the berries across years over the past 100 years, and the really early and really late years are increasing in variability for Vaccinium uliginosum. I suspect the species in your hand is Vaccinium uliginosum and not ovalifolium based on your location. We know that the timing of snow melt really drives the timing of berry production and ripening for blueberry and lingonberry, so with your observation, it is possible to look at the timing of snowmelt from remote sensing images and see if that helps explain the early berries where you were biking!
Thanks Nicky!
Resources:
Alaska Plant Profile – Bog Blueberry / Alpine Blueberry, "description: Low shrub (Vaccinium uliginosum), 6”-16” high, prostrate and mat-forming, or erect; strongly branched, the branchlets rounded in cross-section. Leaves dark green above and paler underneath, less than ¾” long, leathery, obovate, oblanceolate, or oval with smooth margins, broadest above the middle and strongly veined underneath. Leaves are deciduous, turning red-purple before falling. Flowers dark pink to white-pink, egg or urn shaped with 4 (sometimes 5) lobes. Fruit a dark blue round or barrel shaped berry covered with fine waxy bloom, 5-10 mm. in diameter." Compiled by Donald R. Ross, State of Alaska Plant Materials Center
International Journal of Circumpolar Health – The antioxidant level of Alaska's wild berries: High Higher and Highest, "In the last few years, antioxidants have become the stars of the nutritional world. Antioxidants are important in terms of their ability to protect against oxidative cell damage that can lead to conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and heart disease – conditions also linked with chronic inflammation. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Alaska’s wild berries may have the potential to help prevent these diseases." Published online 2013 Aug 5.
Video: This short-video was produced in the community of Akutan, Alaska titled, Akutan Berry Compote :: Store Outside Your Door :: Aleutians. "In this short 4:10-minute video, ANTHC's Store Outside Your Door brings you into the beautiful Aleutian Island Community of Akutan, where we highlight a delicious berry recipe. Alaska berries are super high in antioxidants and are a good food for a healthy metabolism. In the Fall, Akutan is a virtual berry paradise, with mossberries (aka "crowberries"), salmonberries, and blueberries ready for harvest all around the community. ANTHC Store Outside Productions travel around the State of Alaska highlighting our First Peoples, their food, culture, and ways. Our goal is to re-invigorate local, sustainable food systems by showcasing our people who hunt, fish, gather and grow their own food. Eating well - like our ancestors did - and remembering that our food is our medicine." Published, December 25, 2012 (ANTHCStoreOutside) M. Tcheripanoff
Steese Highway