222 THE ALPINE THICKETS AND FORESTS 



ground runners, by whose aid it manages to cover 

 large areas. 



V actinium uliginosum, Linn. 



The Bog Vaccinium has a round stem. The leaves 

 are not toothed, but, like those of the True Bilberry, 

 they are thin, and shed in the autumn. When young 

 they have a bluish-green tinge, and are much veined. 

 The berry is also blue-black in colour. 



The bush of this species is taller and more upright 

 than that of the other Bilberries. Otherwise the 

 plants are very similar. 



Vaccinium vitis-idcea, Linn. 



The Cowberry (Plate XLIL, Fig. 1) is easily 

 distinguished from the other species by the red 

 berry and the thick evergreen leaves, which are 

 not toothed at the edges. The shrub has also 

 numerous runners below the surface of the soil, 

 from which fresh shoots spring. 



The leaves are rolled at their edges, the under side 

 being studded with glands, which appear to the naked 

 eye as brown dots. The corolla is also shaped 

 quite differently from that of either of the two other 

 Bilberries. 



Like the other Bilberries, Vaccinium vitis-idcea 

 has its enemies. It is largely attacked by parasitic 

 Fungi, which grow both in the leaves and in the berry, 

 greatly to the detriment of the plant. 



