10 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



certain meaning applied to related European plants. As this 

 name is used in America, however, it is regarded as more prop- 

 erly belonging to the allied genus Gaylussacia. One of our 

 commonest blue-berries is J\icciiuiiiii Canadense known from 

 the taste of leaves as "sour-top" and from their texture 

 as "velvet-leaf blueberry." Vaccinium Pcnnsylvanicum, a 

 rather diminutive plant, is "low sweet blueberry," "early sweet 

 l)lueberry" and "sweet juniper-berry." The "high blueberry" 

 or "swamp blueberry" is V. corynibositni and it is also called 

 "high-bush blueberry" and "giant whortleberry." This last 

 name is apparently derived from an ancient name for a small 

 bush and is in conmion use in the Old World to designate an 

 allied species of Vaccinium. Vocciniuui atrococais. is 

 the "black blueberry" if one can imagine such a contradiction 

 of terms. Occasionally it is called "black high blueberry." 

 Still another "black blueberry" is the variety nigrum of V. 

 Pcnnsylvanicuui. The "late low blueberry" is ]\ vaciUans. 

 Vaccinium myrsinitcs, a southern species with persistent 

 leaves, is the "evergreen blueberry." The "bog bilberry" 

 V. iiliginosuvi, is a plant common to the northern parts of both 

 Hemispheres. It has been suggested that "bilberry" is but 

 another form of "bull-berry," given to distinguish this species 

 from the "cow-berry." The term "blaeberry" applied to our 

 plant is the Scotch for blueberry. "Bog blueberry" and "bog 

 whortleberry" are other names for the plant. Vaccinium 

 caespitosiim is the "dwarf bilberry." 



If the derivation of Vaccinium from the Latin word for 

 cow is correct, we might consider Vaccinium vistis-Idaca as 

 the typical species for its most common vernacular name is 

 "cow-berry." It is found in cold and elevated regions on 

 both sides of the Atlantic and such names as "wind-berry," 

 "wine berry," "ling-berry," rock cranberry," mountain cran- 



