852 
Berries black, purple, bluish, or red, generally eatable, though not 
always pleasant, nor wholesome in a crude state. The species of 
this genus were ill understood by Linnzeus, who therefore has led 
all following authors astray. In reviewing the whole, we find 
something to add, though we have many specimens that are 
dubious. We are obliged to follow the distribution of Linnzus, 
into the evergreen and deciduous species, though some uncer- 
tainty must always attend that character respecting species 
known from dried specimens only. 
§ 1. Leaves deciduous. 
* Pedicels \-flonered, usually solitary, rarely twin or fascicu- 
lated. 
1 V. myrtr'tuus (Lin. spec. 498.) pedicels solitary, 1-flower- 
ed; leaves serrated, ovate, smooth ; stem acutely angular, 
smooth; calyx hardly divided. kh. H. Native on heaths, 
stony moors, and mountain woods throughout most parts of 
Europe, especially the more northern; plentiful in Britain. Dr. 
Sibthorp gathered it on the Bithynian Olympus. It is common 
on the hills in the Island of Unalaschka. Smith, engl. bot. 456. 
Fl. dan. 974,.—Ger. emac. 1415. Math. valgr. 1. p. 210. Cam. 
epit. 135. Corolla globose, generally 5-cleft, of a very delicate 
waxy pink hue. Berries the size of currants, bluish black, 
covered by a mealy bloom, eaten in tarts or with cream, or 
made into jellies, in the north and west of England and Scot- 
land. In Devonshire the berries are eaten with clotted cream; 
in Poland they are ripe in July, and being mixed with wood 
strawberries, and eaten with new milk, are considered a great 
delicacy. They may be successfully cultivated in a shady bor- 
der, in bog earth. The fruit is sometimes sent into Norfolk 
from Devonshire. The juice of them has been employed to 
stain paper or linen purple. In autumn the wood game chiefly 
live upon the product of this shrub. Mr. Menzies brought from 
the west coast of North America what can scarcely be considered 
more than a gigantic variety, 7 or 8 feet high, larger in every 
part, with less distinctly serrated leaves. 
Myrtle-like or Common Bilberry, or Bleaberry. FI. May. 
Britain. Shrub 4 to 2 feet. 
2 V. Cuamissonis (Bongard, in mem. acad. petersb. 2. p. 
151.) pedicels solitary, 1-flowered, short, deflexed while in fruit; 
leaves elliptic, nearly entire, obtuse, mucronulated, glabrous, 
glaucous beneath; calyx 5-toothed; flowers decandrous. h. 
H. Native of the Island of Sitcha. V. myrtillus, Cham. et 
Schlecht. in Linnea. 1. p. 525. Branches erect, angular. Co- 
rolla white, urceolate, with short obtuse lobes. Anthers awned 
on the back. Berries black. 
Chamisso’s Whortle-berry. Shrub 1 foot. 
3 V. ovatiroLium (Smith, in Rees’ cycl. no. 2.) pedicels soli- 
tary, 1-flowered ; leaves elliptic, obtuse, pointless, entire, smooth, 
strongly veined beneath; stem angular; calyx hardly divided. 
b. H. Native of the north-west: coast of America, where it 
was collected by Mr. Menzies; and in the Island of Sitcha by 
Bongard. Branches smooth, less acutely angular than in the 
foregoing species. Leaves 14 inch long. The flowers seem to 
agree with those of V. myrtillus in colour and structure, except 
that the corolla is more ovate. Berries black, crowned, cup- 
shaped, with a slightly 4-lobed calyx. 
Oval-leaved Bilberry. Shrub 10 to 12 feet. 
4 V. parvirotium (Smith, in Rees’ eyel. no. 3.) pedicels soli- 
tary, 1-flowered, clavate while bearing the fruit; leaves elliptic, 
obtuse pointed, entire, smooth, glaucous and slightly veined 
beneath; stem acutely angular ; calyx hardly divided. k. H. 
Native of the north-west coast of America, where it was col- 
lected by Mr. Menzies; and in the Island of Sitcha by Bon- 
ERICACEZ. LII. Vaccinium. 
gard. Branches smooth, as acutely angled as in V. myrtillus. 
The leaves agree most in shape with V. ovalifolium, but are not 
a quarter the size, even when full grown. ‘he berries are red, 
and make excellent tarts. They appear to be smaller than the 
last, and crowned with a similar calyx. 
Small-leaved Bilberry. Shrub 8 to 10 feet. 
5 V. ceminiriorum (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 3. p. 
267.) flowers axillary, twin, drooping, decandrous; leaves ob- 
long, bluntish, crenulated, reticulately veined, rather membran- 
ous, glabrous ; anthers furnished with 2 awns on the back. R. 
F. Native of Mexico, between Omitlan and Moran. Habit and 
stature of V. myrtillus. Branchlets angular, downy. Leaves 8- 
10 lines long, paler beneath. Corolla campanulate, ventricose 
at the base, with short ovate bluntish segments. Filaments 
membranous, glabrous. 
Tnin-flowered Whortle-berry. Shrub 1 foot. 
6 V. nizrum (Thunb. jap. 155.) pedicels solitary, 1-flowered ; 
leaves ovate, serrated, hairy all over, as well as the young 
branches. h. F. Native of Japan, on the hills between 
Miaco and Jedo. Branches terete. Flowers on very short 
stalks. 
Hairy Bilberry. Fl. April. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 
7 V. vxicino'sum (Lin. spec. 499.) pedicels somewhat aggre- 
gate, 1-flowered; leaves obovate, entire, smooth; branches 
terete. h.H. Native of Sweden, Germany, Siberia, Switzer- 
land, Savoy, Scotland, and the north of England; as well as in 
the more northern parts of America, and on its west coast ; and 
in the Island of Sitcha, on marshy mountain heaths and alpine 
bogs. Smith, engl. bot. t. 581. Fl. dan. 231. Myrtillus 
grandis, Bauh. hist. 1. p. 518. Taller than the Common Bil- 
berry, and of a more glaucous hue. Leaves glaucous beneath. 
Flowers flesh-coloured, with 8 long-horned stamens. Berries 
large, juicy, black, covered with a mealy bloom; they are eat- 
able, but not either very grateful or wholesome. A variety 
with slightly pointed leaves was published by an apothecary at 
Berne, in 1787, as V. mucrondtum, an imaginary species. 
Bog or Great Bilberry. Fl. April, May. Britain. 
2 feet. 
8 V. catycinum (Smith, in Rees’ cycl. no. 7.) pedicels soli- 
tary, 1-flowered ; leaves obovate, serrated, smooth, with downy 
ribs; branches angular; calycine segments deep, ovate. k. 
F. Native of the Sandwich Islands, in woods upon lofty moun- 
tains. Leaves 14 inch long, and near an inch wide. Corolla 
oblong, with 5 angles. 
Large-calyxed Bilberry. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 
9 V. ancustirorium (Ait. hort. kew. ed. 2. vol. 2. p- 356.) 
pedicels scattered, mostly solitary, 1-flowered, naked ; leaves 
lanceolate, nearly entire, downy at the ribs and margins. R. 
H. Native of Canada, about Hudson’s Bay and Labrador. 
Berries large, bluish black, known by the name of Bluets. V. 
myrtilloides, Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 234. Michaux says 
this species has the habit of V. myrtillus; its leaves being mem- 
branous, of a narrow lanceolate form. 
Narrow-leaved Whortle-berry. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1776. 
Shrub 2 feet. 
10 V. saticinum (Cham. et Schlecht. in Linnea. 1. p. 525.) 
flowers axillary, solitary, on short pedicels ; leaves cuneate- 
lanceolate, cuspidate, quite entire, rather coriaceous, reticulately 
veined ; corolla cylindrically urceolate, with a 4-cleft revolute 
limb. k. H. Native of Unalascha, on mossy hills. Shrub 
trailing, glabrous, habit of Salix alpigena, creeping under the 
moss. Branches angular, cinnamon-coloured. Flowers droop- 
ing. Calycine lobes 4-5, short, ovate, acute. Stamens 8, in- 
closed. Anthers biaristate on the base. 
Willowy Whortle-berry. Shrub creeping. 
11 V. cxsrirésum (Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 234.) flowers 
Shrub 
