XLIII. ERICA^CEJE : TACCl'NIUM. 



605 



puddings. Their juice has been employed to stain paper or linen purple. 

 In autumn, many kinds of game live upon them, and the plant affords them 

 shelter. In gardens, it may be cultivated in sandy peat, kept moist, in a situ- 

 ation airy, but somewhat shaded. 



* 2. V. ULIGINO'SUM L. The Bog Whortleberry, or great Bilberry. 



Identification. Lin. Spec., 499. ; Smith Eng. Fl., 2. p. 210. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 851. 



Synonyme. Myrtillus grandis Bauh. Hist. \. p. 518. 



Engravings. Fl. Dan., t. 231. Eng. Bot., t. 581. ; and our fig. 1154. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Pedicels somewhat aggregate, 1-flowered. Leaves obovate, 

 entire, smooth. Branches terete. Taller than the common bilberry, 

 and of a more glaucous hue. Leaves glaucous be- 

 neath. Flowers flesh-coloured, with 8 long-horned 

 stamens. (Don's Mill.) A low deciduous shrub. 

 North of Europe, North America, and North of Asia, 

 in marshy mountain heaths and alpine bogs. Height 

 1 ft. to 2ft. Flowers flesh-coloured ; April and May. 

 Berries large, juicy, black, and covered with a mealy 

 bloom ; ripe in October. 



The berries are agreeable, but inferior in flavour to 

 those of V. Myrtillus; eaten in large quantities, they 

 occasion giddiness, and a slight headache. In France 

 they are used to colour wines red ; and in Siberia and 

 Sweden they furnish an ardent spirit that is highly vola- n64 . v , 

 tile and intoxicating. They afford excellent sustenance 

 to game. In gardens, it may be cultivated like the preceding species. 



-UK 3. V. ANGUSTIFO V LIUM Ait. The narrow-leaved Whortleberry. 



Identification, Ait. Hort. Kew., ed. 2., vol. 2. p. 356. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 852. 

 Synonyme. V. myrtilloides Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1. p. 234. 

 Engravings. Bet. Mag., t. 3447. ; and our fig. 1155. 



Spec. Char.y $c. Pedicels scattered, mostly solitary, 1-flowered, naked. 

 Leaves lanceolate, nearly entire, downy at the ribs and 

 margins. Berries large, and known by the name of 

 bluets. (Don's Mill.) A low deciduous shrub. Ca- 

 nada, about Hudson's Bay and Labrador; and the 

 high alpine woods of the Rocky Mountains, from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific. Height 1 ft. to 2 ft. Intro- 

 duced in 1776. Flowers flagon-shaped, yellowish green, 

 or white tinged with red ; April and May. Berries 



large, globose, blackish purple, highly esteemed by the 

 inhabitants of the countries where the plant is indige- 

 nous ; ripe in October. 



1155. V. angustifolium. 



j* 4. V. C^ESPITO'SUM Michx. The tufted Whortleberry 



Identification. Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 1. p. 234. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 852. 

 Engravings. Bot. Mag., t. 3429. ; and our Jig. 11 56. 



Spec. Char. y fyc. Flowers lateral, solitary, nearly sessile. 

 Leaves somewhat wedge-shaped, rounded, obtuse, 

 serrated, membranous, very smooth. A little shrub, 

 with many crowded stems, from 2 in. to 4 in. high, 

 very smooth in every part. Corolla of a short urceo- 

 late form. Berries nearly sessile, globose. (Don's 

 Mitt.) A small deciduous shrub, with crowded stems. 

 Hudson's Bay, in the Island of Sitcha, and on the Rocky 

 Mountains. Height 6 in. Introduced in 1823. Flowers 

 numerous, exceedingly delicate and beautiful, white, 

 with a deep tinge of blush ; May. Berry blue black, 

 with a glaucous bloom ; ripe in October. n 56 . v . ca!S piti>*uni. 



