Rubus chamaemorus,
marsh-plant in the rose family. The stem has a pair of dark green, lobed leaves with a single white flower on top; male flower on one plant, female on the other. With just one berry per stalk, the cloudberry is first red and
firmly attached, and later pale yellow, juicy, and delicious. It is a composite of small stone fruits. The plant is common in forest and mountain areas in southern Norway, and also common in the lowlands of northern Norway. The cloudberry harvest is v
ery dependent on the weather in the blooming period, but there are probably other factors as well. Especially in southern Norway there can occasionally be many years between good cloudberry harvests. The leaves contain tannic acid; the berries vitamin-C
and several organic acids. The berries have been used to treat scurvy.
The districts of Nordland, Troms, and Finnmark are "Cloudberry Land", areas with berries of such size and abundance that they have economic importance. In these districts it is forbidden to pick cloudberries that are not to be consumed immediately. Land
owners can also prohibit cloudberry picking. A new law in 1970 made it illegal to pick unripe cloudberries, but the local district governments can decide how that law applies in each district.
The Cloudberry