XXI. THE WHORTLEBERRY FAMILY. 397 



FAMILY XXI. THE WHORTLEBERRY FAMILY. VACCI'NIEJE. 



De Candolle. 



The whortleberries and cranberries take the place, through- 

 out the northern part of this continent, of the heaths of the cor- 

 responding climates of Europe; and fill it with not less of 

 beauty, and incomparably more of use. This family includes 

 erect or creeping shrubs, with numerous, irregular branches, 

 simple, alternate leaves, on short stalks, sometimes coriaceous 

 and perennial, and flowers solitary or in racemes. The charac- 

 teristics are nearly those of the previous family ; calyx adherent 

 to the ovary, entire, or with from four to six lobes, with which 

 the equally numerous lobes of the corolla alternate ; the stamens 

 double that number and distinct, with two-horned anthers open- 

 ing by pores, or short slits; ovary four- or five-celled; style 

 and stigma simple ; berry crowned by the persistent limb of the 

 calyx, succulent, four- or five-, or eight- or ten-celled ; cells one- 

 or many -seeded ; seeds minute. 



This family has usually been made a tribe of the Heath 

 Family, from which it differs essentially only in its juicy fruit 

 surmounted by the calyx -segments. Most of the plants which 

 it comprehends bear pleasant and wholesome fruits, and are 

 found chiefly in the temperate, or on mountains in the warmer 

 regions of America. Some are found in Europe ; some on the 

 continent and islands of Asia, and on islands in the Atlantic, 

 Pacific and Indian Oceans. The leaves and bark have astrin- 

 gent and tonic properties. Many species deserve cultivation for 

 their beauty. 



Three genera are found in Massachusetts : — 



The Whortleberry, with erect stems, ovoid corollas, and 

 agreeably acidulous fruit ; 



The Cranberry, with creeping stems, expanded or rcvolute 

 corolla, and acid fruit ; and 



The Chiogenes, with creeping stems, bell-shaped corolla, and 

 white, pleasant fruit with a chequer-berry flavor. 



