The Bakeapple (Newfoundland, Labrador) is known and appreciated by many
northern cultures. The berry is also known as: Cloudberry (UK), molte
(Norwegian), hjortron (Sweden), lakka (Finland), chicoutai (Innu,
Montagnais) chicouté (Quebec).
The Bakeapple (Rubus Chamaemorus, also known as Cloudberry) is a part of the
rose family and closely related to blackberries and raspberries. Its fruit
is generally larger than that of either related group. It is a cloudy golden
to orange color when ripe, boasting a unique flavor.
In the Labrador Straits area, blooming occurs immediately after the peatland
thaws and aerial shoots are sent up. These shoots rarely grow over three
centimeters and bear five white pedals. The actual fruiting of the berry
occurs in July and ripens during the Labrador summer days. Wild bakeapples
are plentiful in Labrador, where they are harvested by local pickers in mid
August and used for countless recipes and dessert toppings.
The cloudberry grows in damp peatland type areas which are
characteristically acidic. Cloudberry has separately sexed plants, the male
and female plants appear to prefer slightly different microclimates,
concentrating in different portions of the same bog. Large patches found on
many of the bogs in the area are often descendants or "rhyzome clones" of
the original parent plant in the patch. This means, with the help of insects
and wind the entire patch is pollinated from one set of parents.