VACCINIACEAE. 709 



5. VACCINIUM L. 



Shrubs (some species small trees) with alternate leaves, and small white pink 

 or red flowers, in racemes or clusters, or rarely solitary in the axils. Calyx-tube 

 globose, hemispheric or turbinate, not angled, adnate to the ovary, the limb 4-5- 

 toothed or 4-5-lobed, persistent. Corolla gamopetaious, urn-shaped, or cylindric, 

 rarely subglobose, its limb 4-5 -toothed or 4-5-lobed. Stamens twice as many as 

 the lobes of the corolla; anthers upwardly prolonged into tubes, opening by termi- 

 nal pores or chinks. Ovary 4-5 -celled, or 8-io-celled by false partitions; ovules 

 several or numerous; stigma small. Fruit a many-seeded berry. [Latin, blue- 

 berry.] About 125 species of wide distribution. Besides the following, some n 

 others occur in southern and western N. Am. 



Flowers solitary, or 2-4 together, on drooping pedicels; low shrubs. 



Most or all the flowers 4-parted, and stamens 8. i. V. uliginosum. 



Flowers all or nearly all 5-parted, and stamens 10. 



Shrub 7-15 cm. high; leaves obovate or cuneate. 2. V. cacspitosum. 



Shrubs 0.3-4 m. high; leaves oval or oblong; northern species. 

 Leaves serrulate, green both sides; berries purple-black. 



3. V, membranaceum. 

 Leaves entire or nearly so, pale beneath; berry blue with bloom. 



4. V. ovalifolium. 

 Flowers fascicled or racemose, short-pedicelled ; leaves deciduous. 



Corolla cylindric tor nearly so, 2-3 times as long as thick. 



Flowers appearing before the leaves ; berry black. 5. V. virgatum. 



Flowers appearing with the leaves; berry blue with a bloom. 



6. V. corymbosum* 

 Corolla urn-shaped, oblong or oblong-cylindric, 1-2 times as long as thick. 



Leaves not glaucous; glabrous or pubescent beneath. 

 Leaves mostly entire, pubescent beneath. 



Shrub 1-5 m. high ; leaves oval, large, fruit black. 



7. V. atrococcunt, 

 Shrub 1.5-6 dm. high; leaves oblong, small; fruit blue. 



8. V. Canadense. 

 Leaves serrulate, nearly or quite glabrous; low shrub ; fruit blue. 



9. V. Pennsylvanicunti 

 Leaves pale and glaucous beneath, mostly glabrous both sides. 



Fruit black; shrub 1.5-5 dm. high; leaves oblong or oblanceolate. 



10. V. ntgrum, 

 Fruit blue ; shrubs 3-18 dm. high ; leaves oblong, oval, or obovate. 



Leaves firm, mostly entire; berry about 6 mm. in diameter. 



11. V. vacillans. 

 Leaves thin, sharply serrulate; berry 8-12 mm. in diameter. 



12. V. pallidum. 



1. Vaccinium uliginosum L. GREAT BILBERRY. BOG WHORTLEBERRY. 

 BLEABERRY. (I. F. f. 2783.) Much branched, 1.5-6 dm. high. Leaves thick, 

 glabrous or nearly so, dull, pale or glaucous beneath, obovate, oblong, or oval, ob- 

 tuse, or retuse, entire, nearly sessile, finely reticulate-veined. 10-25 mm - l n g; 

 flowers mostly shorter than the pedicels; calyx sometimes 5-lobed; corolla pink, 

 ovoid or urn-shaped, 4-5-toothed; berry blue with a bloom, about 6 mm. in diam- 

 eter, sweet. Mountains of N. Eng. and the Adirondacks ; Lab. and Quebec to the 

 shores of Lake Superior and Alaska. Also in Europe and Asia. June-July. 



2. Vaccinium caespitosum Michx. DWARF BILBERRY. (I. F. f. 2784.) 

 Nearly glabrous throughout. Leaves 12-25 mm - l n g> green and shining both 

 sides, nearly sessile, serrulate; flowers longer than their pedicels ; corolla obovoid 

 or obovoid-oblong, pink or white, rarely 4- toothed; stamens rarely 8; berry blue 

 with a bloom, sweet, about 6 mm. in diameter. Me., N. H., N. B. to Lab., west 

 to Alaska, south in the Rocky Mts. to Colo. June-July. 



3. Vaccinium membranaceum Dougl. THIN LEAVED BILBERRY. (I. F. f. 

 2785.) Nearly glabrous, 3-15 dm. high, the twigs slightly angled. Leaves 

 thin, not shining, acutish to acuminate, short-petioled, 2.5-5 cm - l n g> flowers 

 with their pedicels becoming erect in fruit; corolla depressed-globose or globose- 

 urceolate, greenish or purplish, mostly 5 -toothed; berry rather acid. In moist 

 woods, Mich, to Mont., Ore. and Br. Col. June-July. 



