The cloudberry is found in northern and arctic parts of America and Canada, in Scandinavia and sometimes in the Scottish Highlands and Welsh mountains. The fruit is sweet and juicy with bunched amber yellow and red berries and a taste often compared to honey or apples. They grow in swamps and forests and are ready for picking around mid July to mid August.
They are used as decorative fruits or in pancakes, jams, yogurts and liqueurs. They are rich in vitamin C (50-150 mg per 100g) and were favoured by Norwegian sailors and North American Eskimos for the prevention of scurvy. Like many other Rubus species they are high in ellagic acid. Due to it's high benzoic acid content the cloudberry keeps well in the refrigerator. World market demand is largely unmet for this special small fruit.
The Holt Research Centre,
Troms, Norway are actively seeking to domesticate and improve cultivation
of the berry. Most cloudberries on the market come from native peatland
in Scandinavia where the most favourable growing conditions are pH 3.5-4.5
which can give a yield of 20-50kg per hectare.