274 Ericvacea— Vaccinium. 
Orver LXIII.—EBRICACEAS (including Vaccinea). 
Shrubs or trees, usually evergreen. Leaves simple, alternate, 
opposite or whorled, exstipulate. Flowers regular, hermaphro- 
dite. Calyx superior or inferior ; limb 4- or 5-lobed. Corolla 
campannlate or ureeolate, lobes imbricate. Stamens 4 to 10, 
hypogynous or epigynous; anthers 2-celled, opening by termi- 
nal pores, often furnished with an awn-like appendage. Disk 
annular, lobed, or glandular. Fruita berry or capsule, 3- to 5- 
celled; cells many- or 1-seeded; seeds small. There are about 
75 genera and 1,000 species, mostly from temperate and cold 
climates. Pyrola, Wintergreen, is an herbaceous genus repre- 
sented in Britain by three or four species of tufted herbs with 
radical leaves and terminal racemose spikes of small flowers 
in which the petals are free or nearly so. 
Trizz I.— VACCINE A, 
Fruit inferior ; stamens epigynous. 
1. VACCINIUM. 
Erect or procumbent shrubs. Leaves alternate ; buds clothed 
with scales. Flowers small, solitary or racemose, white or red. 
Corolla campanulate or urceolate. Stamens 8 to 10; anther- 
cells with tubular tips. Berry 4- or 5-celled. There are 
about 100 species in temperate Europe, Asia, and America, 
and three species are natives of Great Britain, V. Myrtillus, 
Whortleberry or Bilberry, being the commonest. This has 
angular stems, deciduous ovate toothed leaves, and solitary pink 
and white flowers, succeeded by glaucous bluish-black berries. 
V. Vitis-llaéa, Cowlberry, has pubescent stems, evergreen leaves, 
racemose flowers, and red berries. It is rare in the central 
counties of England, and absent from the South. V. wligind- 
swm is a northern specics of procumbent habit with glabrous 
stems, entire leaves, pink flowers, and dark blue berries. O.xy- 
céceos pal istris; Cranberry, is sometimes united with Vaceininm, 
but differs in having a rotate corolla with reflexed lobes. It is 
remarkable for its slender thread-like branches and small leaves. 
The flowers are small and droopiny, and the berries red. The 
origin of the name is not explained. Some of the North 
