120 SILVA OF NORTH AMERICA. ERICACEA. 
Vaccinium arboreum is distributed from North Carolina, where it is found from the coast region 
to the valleys of the Alleghany Mountains in the extreme western part of the state, southward to 
Hernando County, Florida; it ranges through the Gulf states and from southern Illinois and Missouri 
through Arkansas and eastern Texas to the shores of Matagorda Bay. The Farkleberry usually inhab- 
its moist sandy soil along the banks of ponds and streams, and is common in the Pine belt of the 
southern Atlantic and Gulf states, reaching its greatest development in eastern Texas near the coast. 
In the interior it is less common and usually of small size. 
The wood of Vaccinium arboreum is heavy, hard, and very close-grained, with a satiny surface 
susceptible of receiving a beautiful polish ; it contains numerous broad conspicuous medullary rays and 
is light brown tinged with red, with thick sapwood which is distinguished with difficulty from the 
heartwood. The specific gravity of the absolutely dry wood is 0.7610, a cubic foot weighing 47.42 
pounds. It is sometimes used for the handles of tools and in the manufacture of other small articles 
in which strength and tenacity are required. 
Decoctions of the astringent bark of the root and of the leaves of Vaccinium arboreum are 
sometimes used domestically in the treatment of diarrhoea, and the bark has been employed by tanners.’ 
The first description of Vacciniwm arborewm was published by Humphrey Marshall in 1785, 
although according to Aiton? it was introduced into English gardens twenty years earlier. With its 
lustrous leaves and profusion of pure white flowers the Farkleberry is one of the most beautiful of the 
North American species of Vaccinium, and it might well be used to decorate the gardens of temperate 
countries ; but, although once cultivated in Europe, it probably is no longer to be found outside its 
native home. 
1 Porcher, Resources of Southern Fields and Forests, 384. 2 Hort. Kew. ii. 11. — Loudon, Arb. Brit. ii. 1159. 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 
Puate CCXXX. VaAccINIUM ARBOREUM. 
fod 
. A flowering branch, natural size. 
. Diagram of a flower. 
. A flower, enlarged. 
. Vertical section of a flower, enlarged. 
. Front, rear, and side views of a stamen, enlarged. 
. An ovule, much magnified. 
. A fruiting branch, natural size. 
. A fruit cut transversely, enlarged. 
oONA o fF W bd 
. A seed, enlarged. 
e 
Oo 
. Vertical section of a seed, enlarged 
