208 FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 
in such regions. Among these may be mentioned Ledum, the Labrador 
tea; Cassiope, Chamaedaphne, Phyllodoce and Andromeda. Others are 
characteristic of the Pacific States, as the madrofia (Arbutus Menziesit), 
a handsome tree only distantly related to the beautiful mayflower, 
which is often incorrectly called arbutus. The mayflower, by the way 
(Epigaea repens), is one of those peculiar plants in which there are but 
two species, one of eastern North America, the other of Japan. The 
accompanying plate, taken from a photograph, is an unusually good 
picture of this dainty little flower. 
The economic interest in the Ericaceae centres chiefly in those 
genera whose fruit is a berry rather than a capsule, as in the blueber- 
ries and their allies (Vaccinium). The latter genus is represented by a 
large number of species, most of which have edible fruit. Of less value, 
but still useful, particularly when cooked, are the huckleberries, derived 
from species of Gaylussacia. The writer is often asked the difference 
between a blueberry and a huckleberry, and it is true that in many 
- parts of the country, particularly in New England, the terms are used 
synonymously, and applied indiscriminately to both Vaccinium and 
Gaylussacia. As a matter of fact, while the two genera are sufficiently 
distinct in structural characters, it is hard to draw a line of popular de- 
marcation. Both fruits contain what appear to be seeds, but in Gaylus- 
sacia they are really one-seeded nutlets, or little stone fruits. There is 
no color criterion, for while most Vacciniums have blue fruits and most 
Gallussacias black, there are exceptions in each of the two genera. 
Fic. 180. The Small Cranberry (Oaycoccus Oxycoccus), After Britton 
and Brown, Ill. Fl. Northeast U. S. 
