ERICACEAE 



ERICACEAE HEATH FAMILY 



Vactinium corymbosum, L. 



White or faintly pink High-bush Blueberry, 



Swamp Blueberry. 

 May-June 



Fruit ripe : July-August 



V actinium: Latin for a blueberry. 

 Corymbosum: Latin for the uppermost point. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: damp swamp-borders. 



THE SHRUB: six feet to eight feet high, branched; the 

 branches stiff; the twigs minutely warty, greenish-brown, 

 with short, soft hairs or with none. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; oval or oblong; one inch to three 

 inches long; above green and hairless; below paler and 

 often with short, soft hairs, at least on the veins; mostly 

 acute at each end; short petioled; usually entire, some- 

 times with hairs on the margins. 



THE FLOWERS: in short racemes, appearing with the 

 leaves, as long as, or longer than the flower-stems; bracts 

 oblong or oval, falling early; corolla five-toothed. 



THE FRUIT: a berry, blue, with a bloom. 



This is the tall Blueberry of the swamps. Its branches 

 are long and ascending; its leaves, when full-grown, are 

 ovate, tending toward being lanceolate, and generally 

 smooth. Its flowers, which come when the leaves are only 

 half-grown, are small, pinkish-white, and urn-shaped. The 

 berry is blue, with a bloom, and has a very sweet taste. 



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