Diddle dee is a heath-like evergreen shrub covering large tracts of the Falklands. It is often likened to Scottish heather. Flowers appear in October, ripening to juicy red berries from January/ February. Diddle dee berries are food for geese and small birds. In the past particularly, it was a very important source of fruit for campers who could make up a years supply of jam and jelly or bottle the fruit from the easily picked berries. It is still a favourite for making jam. The diddle-dee bush was once an important fuel and for kindling and was used by the gauchos for fuel for camp fires.

Diddle dee is also present on neighbouring Fuegia and Patagonia.

Sources include:, Falklands Conservation, A Field Guide to the Wildlife of The Falkland Islands and South Georgia - Ian J Strange, Plants of the Falkland Islands - Ali Liddle 2007, Flowering Plants of the Falkland Islands- Robin W Woods, The Vascular Flora of the Falkland Islands- D. M. Moore, B.Sc., Ph.D, 1968,

Photographic credits: Robert Maddocks

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