APPEARANCE
Cloudberry is a relative of the raspberry. It has toothed leaves, white flowers in June/July and yellow-orange berries that ripen in August/September.
RANGE & HABITAT
You can find cloudberries in Canada, Scandinavia, Greenland, Russia and the US. Often found near bogs, lakes or marshes, cloudberries can grow in both wet and dry conditions.
LIFE CYCLE
Cloudberries spread especially well underground, sending out rhizomes 10 centimetres below the surface that sprout into new plants about a metre away. They also produce seeds that can be carried off to colonize new areas, but this is less common.
ANIMAL USES
Moose graze on cloudberry twigs.
TRADITIONAL USES BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
The tasty berries are frozen and eaten throughout the winter. Inuit peoples make an ice cream-like dish by beating the frozen berries with seal oil and caribou tallow.
OTHER USES
Berries are eaten raw and are also made into commercial liqueurs in Canada and Finland.
STATUS
COSEWIC: Not at Risk
CDC: Yellow
MORE INFORMATION
Photo: Multerland
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