166 HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY 



HUCKLEBERRY FAMILY {Vacciniaceae) 



Shrubs. Leaves alternate. Flowers small, 5-lobed, pink of 

 white. Fruit a berry. 



Huckleberries and Blueberries (Genera Vaccinium 



and Gaylussacia) 



From February to June one may hardly walk a mile 

 in the Florida country without finding plants of this 

 family in bloom. A common and easily recognized huckle- 

 berry is Vaccinium nitidum, a very attractive little ever- 

 green shrub of low bushy growth, with many small, shin- 

 ing, dark green leaves, and many little red-tinged flowers. 

 The edible berries are large and black, and are an aid 

 in distinguishing it from the similar and closely allied 

 7. Myrsinites, whose berries are blue. The young foliage 

 of the latter is usually grayish green tinged with purple, 

 and that of V. nitidum light green tinged with red. The 

 leaves of both are only one-fourth to one-half an inch 

 long. 



A dwarf huckleberry of northern states, Gaylussacia 

 dumosa, which spreads through sandy soil by means of 

 underground stems, is common in pinelands. The up- 

 right branches, seldom more than a foot in height, bear 

 small, white, bell-shaped flowers, and black berries. 



A common northern blueberry, Gaylussacia jrondosa, 

 whose leaves are minutely dotted with golden resin on the 

 under surface, grows in Florida, but the racemes are some- 

 times infected with a fungus that causes an abnormal 

 and grotesque growth of the small greenish flowers. 



Vaccinimn nitidum. Flowers white to red, urn-shaped, 

 small, in short racemes. Stamens 10. Berries black. Shrub 

 1-2 ft. tall. Leaves evergreen, elliptic, small, minutely 

 toothed. Sandy soil. Blooming in winter and spring. Fla. 

 and Ga. 



