Sea Bilberry Or Asiatic Bilberry

Sea bilberry or Asiatic bilberry (vaccinium bracteatum) is a small evergreen tree or shrub of the vaccinium genus in the ericaceae family.

This plant is native to Japan, Korea, southeastern and south-central China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Java, and Sumatra.

The fruit is edible and dark purple. The local people collect and consume this fruit.

The leaves are elliptic, with a rather thick skin and a shiny surface, and the veins are slightly hidden, giving the appearance of webbed grooves on the surface.

People also extract a blue-violet dye from the leaves. It is used in hair dye, vinegar dye, and cooking.