852 



ERICACEAE. LII. VACCINIUM. 



Berries black, purple, bluish, or red, generally eatable, though not 

 always pleasant, nor wholesome in a crude state. The species of 

 this genus were ill understood by Linnaeus, who therefore has led 

 all following authors astray. In reviewing the whole, we find 

 something to add, though we have many specimens that are 

 dubious. We are obliged to follow the distribution of Linnaeus, 

 into the evergreen and deciduous species, though some uncer- 

 tainty must always attend that character respecting species 

 known from dried specimens only. 



1 . Leaves deciduous. 



* Pedicels l-Jloniered, usually solitary, rarely twin or fascicu- 

 lated. 



1 V. MYRTI'LLUS (Lin. spec. 498.) pedicels solitary, 1-flower- 

 ed ; leaves serrated, ovate, smooth ; stem acutely angular, 

 smooth ; calyx hardly divided. ^ . H. Native on heaths, 

 stony moors, and mountain woods throughout most parts of 

 Europe, especially the more northern ; plentiful in Britain. Dr. 

 Sibthorp gathered it on the Bithynian Olympus. It is common 

 on the hills in the Island of Unalaschka. Smith, engl. bot. 456. 

 Fl. dan. 974. Ger. emac. 1415. Math, valgr. 1. p. 210. Cam. 

 epit. 135. Corolla globose, generally 5-cleft, of a very delicate 

 waxy pink hue. Berries the size of currants, bluish black, 

 covered by a mealy bloom, eaten in tarts or with cream, or 

 made into jellies, in the north and west of England and Scot- 

 land. In Devonshire the berries are eaten with clotted cream ; 

 in Poland they are ripe in July, and being mixed with wood 

 strawberries, and eaten with new milk, are considered a great 

 delicacy. They may be successfully cultivated in a shady bor- 

 der, in bog earth. The fruit is sometimes sent into Norfolk 

 from Devonshire. The juice of them has been employed to 

 stain paper or linen purple. In autumn the wood game chiefly 

 live upon the product of this shrub. Mr. Menzies brought from 

 the west coast of North America what can scarcely be considered 

 more than a gigantic variety, 7 or 8 feet high, larger in every 

 part, with less distinctly serrated leaves. 



Myrtle-\ike or Common Bilberry, or Bleaberry. Fl. May. 

 Britain. Shrub to 2 feet. 



2 V. CHAMISSONIS (Bongard, in mem. acad. petersb. 2. p. 

 151.) pedicels solitary, 1-flowered, short, deflexed while in fruit; 

 leaves elliptic, nearly entire, obtuse, mucronulated, glabrous, 

 glaucous beneath ; calyx 5-toothed ; flowers decandrous. Tj . 

 H. Native of the Island of Sitcha. V. myrtillus, Cham, et 

 Schlecht. in Linnaea. 1. p. 525. Branches erect, angular. Co- 

 rolla white, urceolate, with short obtuse lobes. Anthers awned 

 on the back. Berries black. 



Chamisso's Whortle-berry. Shrub 1 foot. 



3 V. OVALIFOLIUM (Smith, in Rees' cycl. no. 2.) pedicels soli- 

 tary, 1-flowered ; leaves elliptic, obtuse, pointless, entire, smooth, 

 strongly veined beneath ; stem angular ; calyx hardly divided. 

 \} . H. Native of the north-west coast of America, where it 

 was collected by Mr. Menzies ; and in the Island of Sitcha by 

 Bongard. Branches smooth, less acutely angular than in the 

 foregoing species. Leaves 1^ inch long. The flowers seem to 

 agree with those of F. myrtillus in colour and structure, except 

 that the corolla is more ovate. Berries black, crowned, cup- 

 shaped, with a slightly 4-lobed calyx. 



Oval-leaved Bilberry. Shrub 10 to 12 feet. 



4 V. PARVIFOLIUM (Smith, in Rees' cycl. no. 3.) pedicels soli- 

 tary, 1-flowered, clavate while bearing the fruit; leaves elliptic, 

 obtuse pointed, entire, smooth, glaucous and slightly veined 

 beneath ; stem acutely angular ; calyx hardly divided, fj . H. 

 Native of the north-west coast of America, where it was col- 

 lected by Mr. Menzies ; and in the Island of Sitcha by Bon- 



gard. Branches smooth, as acutely angled as in V. myrtillus. 

 The leaves agree most in shape with V. ovalifolium, but are not 

 a quarter the size, even when full grown. The berries are red, 

 and make excellent tarts. They appear to be smaller than the 

 last, and crowned with a similar calyx. 



Small-leaved Bilberry. Shrub 8 to 10 feet. 



5 V. GEMINIFLORUM (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. S. p. 

 267.) flowers axillary, twin, drooping, decandrous ; leaves ob- 

 long, bluntish, crenulated, reticulately veined, rather membran- 

 ous, glabrous ; anthers furnished with 2 awns on the back. Tj . 

 F. Native of Mexico, between Omitlan and Moran. Habit and 

 stature of V. myrtillus. Branchlets angular, downy. Leaves 8- 

 10 lines long, paler beneath. Corolla campanulate, ventricose 

 at the base, with short ovate bluntish segments. Filaments 

 membranous, glabrous. 



Trvin-florvered Whortle-berry. Shrub 1 foot. 



6 V. HIRTUM (Thunb. jap. 155.) pedicels solitary, 1-flowered; 

 leaves ovate, serrated, hairy all over, as well as the young 

 branches. Tj . F. Native of Japan, on the hills between 

 Miaco and Jedo. Branches terete. Flowers on very short 

 stalks. 



Hairy Bilberry. Fl. April. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 



7 V. ULIGINO'SUM (Lin. spec. 499.) pedicels somewhat aggre- 

 gate, 1-flowered ; leaves obovate, entire, smooth ; branches 

 terete. Ij . H. Native of Sweden, Germany, Siberia, Switzer- 

 land, Savoy, Scotland, and the north of England ; as well as in 

 the more northern parts of America, and on its west coast ; and 

 in the Island of Sitcha, on marshy mountain heaths and alpine 

 bogs. Smith, engl. bot. t. 581. Fl. dan. 231. Myrtillus 

 grandis, Bauh. hist. 1. p. 518. Taller than the Common Bil- 

 berry, and of a more glaucous hue. Leaves glaucous beneath. 

 Flowers flesh-coloured, with 8 long-horned stamens. Berries 

 large, juicy, black, covered with a mealy bloom ; they are eat- 

 able, but not either very grateful or wholesome. A variety 

 with slightly pointed leaves was published by an apothecary at 

 Berne, in 1787, as V. mucronatum, an imaginary species. 



Bog or Great Bilberry. Fl. April, May. Britain. Shrub 

 2 feet. 



8 V. CALYCINUM (Smith, in Rees' cycl. no. 7.) pedicels soli- 

 tary, 1-flowered; leaves obovate, serrated, smooth, with downy 

 ribs; branches angular; calycine segments deep, ovate. Jj . 

 F. Native of the Sandwich Islands, in woods upon lofty moun- 

 tains. Leaves 1^ inch long, and near an inch wide. Corolla 

 oblong, with 5 angles. 



Large-calyxed Bilberry. Shrub 2 to 3 feet. 



9 V. ANGUSTIFOLIUM (Ait. hort. kew. ed. 2. vol. 2. p. 356.) 

 pedicels scattered, mostly solitary, 1-flowered, naked ; leaves 

 lanceolate, nearly entire, downy at the ribs and margins. ^ . 

 H. Native of Canada, about Hudson's Bay and Labrador. 

 Berries large, bluish black, known by the name of Bluets. V. 

 myrtilloides, Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 234. Michaux says 

 this species has the habit of V. myrtillus ; its leaves being mem- 

 branous, of a narrow lanceolate form. 



Narrow-leaved Whortle-berry. Fl. April, May. Clt. 1776. 

 Shrub 2 feet. 



10 V. SALICINUM (Cham, et Schlecht. in Linnoea. 1. p. 525.) 

 flowers axillary, solitary, on short pedicels ; leaves cuneate- 

 lanceolate, cuspidate, quite entire, rather coriaceous, reticulately 

 veined ; corolla cylindrically urceolate, with a 4-cleft revolute 

 limb. Jj . H. Native of Unalascha, on mossy hills. Shrub 

 trailing, glabrous, habit of Salix alpigena, creeping under the 

 moss. Branches angular, cinnamon-coloured. Flowers droop- 

 ing. Calycine lobes 4-5, short, ovate, acute. Stamens 8, in- 

 closed. Anthers biaristate on the base. 



Willorvy Whortle-berry. Shrub creeping. 



11 V. C.ESPITOSUM (Michx. fl. bor. amer. 1. p. 234.) flowers 



