230 ERICACEAE. [VACCIXIUSI. 



1. VACCINIUM, L. 



Shrubs ; buds clothed with usually persistent scales. Leaves alternate, 

 often evergreen. Flowers solitary or racemose, white or red. Calyx-tube 

 short ; limb 4-5-toothed. Corolla epigynous, urceolate or campanula^-, 

 4-5-fid. Stamens 8-10, epigynous ; anther-cells with tubular tips, awned 

 or not. Ovary 4 5-celled; style filiform, stigma obtuse ; placentas pro- 

 minent, many-ovuled. Berry 4-5-celled, areolate at the top. Seeds angled, 

 testa reticulate. DISTKIB. Europe, temp, andsubtrop. Asia and America; 

 species about 100. ETYM. Obscure. 



1. V. Myrtil'lus, L.; glabrous, stems erect angular, leaves deciduous 

 ovate serrate, peduncles 1-flowered, anthers with dorsal awiis. WJwrtle- 

 berry, Bilberry. 



Woods, copses, and heaths, chiefly in hilly districts ; ascends to 4,200 ft. ; 

 fl. April-June. Rootstock creeping. Stems many, 6-24 in., rigid. /,<<>.< 

 ^-1 in., nerves reticulate, young rosy. Flowers drooping ; peduncles \ in., 

 naked. Calyx-tube turbinate ; lobes 5, short. Corolla \ in. diam., globose,, 

 rosy tinged with green. Berry i in. diam., dark blue, glaucous. DISTHIB. 

 Europe (Arctic), Siberia, Dahuria, W. Asia, N.W. America. Berries nm<.-]> 

 used for preserves, &c. in northern countries. 



2. V. uligino'sum, L. ; glabrous, stem procumbent terete, branches 

 ascending, leaves deciduous oblong or obovate quite entire glaucous be- 

 neath, peduncles 1-flowered, anthers with dorsal awns. 



Mountain bogs and copses, from Westmoreland and Durham northwards^ 

 ascending to near 3,500 ft. in the Highlands ; absent from Ireland ; 11. .May - 

 June. Stems 6-10 in., woody, rigid, naked below. Leaves ^-1 in., coria- 

 ceous, obtuse or acute, veins reticulate beneath. Peduncles 1-3 together, 

 J in. Flowers drooping. Calyx-tube hemispheric ; lobes 4-5, broad, obtuse. 

 Corolla J in., pale pink, subglobose. Berry smaller than in V. MyrtiUtu, 

 of the same colour. DISTBIB. Europe (Arctic), Siberia to Kamtschatka, 

 Persia, E. and W. N. America. 



3. V. Vitis-Idse'a, Z. ; procumbent, branches pubescent, leaves ever- 

 green obovate dotted beneath, margins revolute, racemes short terminal 

 drooping, anthers awnless. Cowberry. 



Woods and heaths, chiefly in mountain districts, from S. Wales and Notts 

 northward, also on Dartmoor ; ascends to 3,300 ft. in the Highlands ; fl. June 

 -July. Stems wiry, rigid, tortuous, branched and naked below ; branches 

 6-18 in., trailing or ascending. Leaves -1$ in., glossy green above (like 

 box), bifarious, very coriaceous, margins thickened entire or obtusely ser- 

 rulate, pale below ; nerves not reticulate. Flowers crowded ; pedicels 2- 

 bracteolate. Calyx-tube hemispheric ; lobes 4, broadly ovate, ciliolate. 

 Corolla campanulate. Bei-ry -i in. diam., globose, red. DISTKIB. Europe 

 (Arctic), Siberia to Kamtschatka, E. and W. N. America. Berry acid. 



2. OXYCOCCOS, Tourncf. CRANBERRY. 



Stems filiform, decumbent or erect, woody ; buds clothed with per- 

 sistent scales. Leaves small, alternate, evergreen. Flowers drooping, 

 on terminal, slender, 2-bracteolate peduncles. Calyx-tube short ; lobes 

 4. Corolla epigynous, rotate, 4-partite, segments reflexed. Stainens 8, 



