ERICACEAE 



tinguished by its long stems, red-brown and woody (in 

 reality tho axis of the leaves), bare for some distance, but 

 finally filled with numerous, oblong leaves, that are 

 slightly paler beneath and end in two flat bracts, small 



and leaf-like. 



ERICACE^) HEATH FAMILY 



V actinium pennsylvanicum, Lam. 



White or reddish Low Sweet Blueberry, 



Dwarf Blueberry, 



May-June Early Sweet Blueberry, 



Sugar Blueberry. 



Fruit ripe : June- July 



Vactinium: for derivation see macrocarpon. 

 Pennsylvanicum: Latin for Pennsylvanian. 



THE PREFERRED HABITAT: dry, sandy soil of the Commons. 



THE SHRUB: six inches to two feet high, branched; the 

 branches bearing green warts and being nearly or quite 

 hairless. 



THE LEAVES: alternate; oblong, tending .to lanceolate; 

 from less than an inch to over an inch long; green and 

 hairless on both sides or with few, short, soft hairs on the 

 veins beneath; acute at both ends; with very fine, sharp 

 teeth. 



THE FLOWERS: few, on very short stems, clustered; the 

 corolla long bell-shaped, slightly contracted at the throat. 



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



Variable in size, and in the shape of the leaves, and, 

 therefore, difficult to identify botanically, but ever a con- 

 spicuous feature of the Commons, where it grows over 

 large tracts. In general, the typical plant is low and bushy, 

 with numerous, oblong leaves. In late May or early June, 



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