VACOIKIUM 



B.M. :UL",) — It is do\ilitful if varieties can lie distin- 

 guished. Var. arblisctlla, ( Iray, itasses into tlie ■n-dinary 

 t'orin; while vavs. ang'ustifdlium, (iray, and cuneiJolium, 

 Nutt., are found to l>e simply forms ]iroduced liy shade. 

 The last form, partieularly, is common in New Eng- 

 land, ami early in the season the h's. are of the ordinary 

 olioTate type, while later they l>efouie elongati'il. 

 Reeonnnt'nded hy Warren PI. ]\lanning- for the ro(di 

 garden. 



11. Pennsylvanicum, Lam. Low BLrEBEi:i;v. Fitr. 

 2ri:lll. A dwarf shrub, 0-15 in. hi;;h: Ivs. niemljrana- 

 ceous, olditng-laneeolate or olilon:;, distinctly serrnlale 

 with hristle-poiuted teeth, mostly shining on lioth sides 

 hut often hairy on miiirib beneath: fls. on shori ]Hili- 

 cels; corolla campanulate-eylindrical, short; berries 

 large, globose, bluish black willi liloom, sweet, tlic 

 earliest to ripen north. X. Anier. h.M. :14:;4. H.P.. 

 ■2:j7i<. Em. 2:4.'jr.. liei.. 3Ie. Exii. Sta. Ls;1,S: 171 .-\'ar. 



VACCINIl'.M 



1S!J3 



2630. Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum — Low Blueberry (XJa). 



angnstifolium, Gray. A dwarf fHmi. with iikmp di-cid- 

 etlly lanceolate ivs. Lake Superior aud northward.— 

 This species is extremely varialjle in size and shape 

 of fruit and flowers, hut witli the exception <if tlip va- 

 riety noted and the black - fruited f<.>rni ofiiu assri- 

 oiated with it, which is .set off as ('. ■tiifjrinu, \]i<' varia- 

 tions do not appear stifficiently constant to warrant mak- 

 ing separations. In general, the i:dant is of Inw. .s.-nii- 

 prostrate habit, is extremely prolitic and thriv<'s <>n dry. 

 sandy liiils. It furnishes the bulk of the Blm-herries 

 found in the eastern markets. When mown down or 

 burned, the new erect shoots produce, the f()liowinq; 

 year, a lone:, spike-like mass of liloom and fruit wliicli 

 may be stripped off by handfuls. Because of its charac- 

 ter and early-ripeniner hniiit, it is km-wn on tlie FJlue- 

 berry plains as "Early Sweet " or "Low Sweet." 



12. nigrum, Eritton. Low Black Bluebeery. Low 

 shrul), siinihtr to I'. Priui.sijh'inuciini , aud often asso- 

 ciated with it: Ivs. oblong-lanceolate to obovate, tinely 

 serruhxte, green above, pale and glaucous beneath: lis. 

 few in the clusters, wiiite or cream-colored, a]iii<'aring 

 earlier than those of I'. Pfninsjilranienm : lierries rather 

 small, black without liloom. Dry rocky soil, N. Amer. 

 B.B. 2:570. Rep. Me. Exp. Sta., 1898 :17L -This species 

 is distinguished from the preceding by the glaucous 

 under surfaces of the leaves and by the characteristic 

 shining black fruit. It is usually found in colonies in 

 the same situations as I'. Peinisi/Jrtni innn : Init occa- 

 sionally the two species will be found intermingled. 



1.'!. Canad^nse, Kichards. L'anala BLrEBEj;iiV. Erect 

 shrubs. 1-2 ft. lii.t;-b, the cmwded liranrlilcts downy- 

 pid.(-sccnt: Ivs. obi(Uig-lancc(.Iat(^ or elliptical, entire, 

 downy on both shies: rorolla short, <.'pen-i-anii.anulate, 

 greenish white, ofh'u tin-'ed wirli red; berries ;L;lobose 

 or oblate, bine with much bhiom, of excellent fla\-or. 

 Low woods, Hudson J^>ay to Hear Lake and the norlh- 

 ern l\o(d<y Mts.; s<.uth to New Eng., mts. of ]';t. and 

 III. B.M. :m(i. H.W. 2:578. -This species, conimoniy 

 known as ''Velvet Leaf " or " Sour Top " because of llie 

 character of its f(dia.i;e an<l the somewhat arid fruit, 

 usually grows iu i-alber moist, rocky, not swampy, lo- 

 calities. The fruit is larger and more acid than the 

 oilier low forms and matures fi'om one to three weeks 

 later. It is not so popular iu the g.-neral market as 1ho 

 sweeter kinds, l)ut it is V(^ry ]ii-oIilic and its lateness in 

 ripening is a point in its favor. 



U. hirsiitum, Buckley. Hairy TTt-ckleberky. Bear 

 llf-'KLEBEKKY. Low shrub, 1-2 fr. lii--h: stems i;reen, 

 grooved, obscurcdy -1-angled. those of the cui'iiiit \ ear 

 covered with stout, spreading while hairs: Ivs. ovate, 

 entire and, together with the ]'ure white campanulate 

 corolla, the calyx and tlie dark lilue gloLiose fruit, hirsute. 

 Very hjcal in N.(.'..(ia. an<l Teun. (i.F. 2:;U15.-This 

 s]tecies, discovereil about bs4(i.was lost sight of for half a 

 century until rediscovered liy Sar^;ent and transferred 

 to the Arnold Arboretum. It is readily distin;,njjshed by 

 the hairy flower and fruit. The fruir is <lesrrilied as 

 fully as large as that of Ga [ilu:<sariit lushiusfi, shining 

 black, and of an a,L;reeable flavor. Under culti^■a.tion 

 not so densely hairy as in the wild state. Gives prom- 

 ise of being valualile under cultivation as one of the 

 latest of its kind to ripen. — at the Arnold Arlioretum 

 the Iiest perii.Ml of fruitage being the middle <'f ATignst, 

 berries remaining into September. 



15. myrtilloldes, Hook. An erect, branching shrub, 

 mostly glabrous throughout, the twigs slightly angled: 

 Ivs. oval, oblong or ovate, acute, serrate, membranous, 

 green on both si<les but not shining, 1-2 in. long: calyx 

 entire; corolla depreased-globiilar, yellowish or green- 

 ish white: berries large, oblate, "black, rather acid. 

 Lake Sui>erior westward. B.jM. ;U47. — The berries are 

 large, ^■2-'\t iu., oblate, vith broad calyx, of excellent 

 flavor; much relished by the natives of the northwest, 



10. ovalifolium, Smith. A slender, straggling, 

 lu'auched shruii ;^-12 ft. high, with slender naore or less 

 angled branchlets : Ivs. oval, obtuse, i.dabrous. green 

 above, glaucous beneath : fls. solitary, on short, re- 

 curved pedicels ; corolla globose-ov<iid : berry large, 

 ^^-^o in., bluish piirjde, -with bloimi. "Woods, (.^Juebec to 

 JMich., Ore. and Alaska. B.B. 2:577. -This s])ecies is 

 very abundant in the nortljwest, forming a lar,u-e part 

 of the undergrowth along the southern coast of Alaska 

 (Funston), The berries, rather larger than ])eas, are 

 collected in great (luantities by the Indians, who use 

 tliem fresh and dry them for winter. The exception- 

 ally large berries and vigorous habit of this species 

 suggest its value for cultivation and particularly for 

 crossing with the low -growing species, such as T, 

 PennstjJvaiiicnm and Canadeusc. 



17. virg^tum, Ait. A shrub .1-12 ft. high, with sJen- 

 der green branches, the young twius puberulent: ]vs. 

 narrowly oval-oblong, acute, often mucronate. entire or 

 minutely serrulate, green and ij:]abrons aI)o"^'e, pale or 

 glaucous beueath, '^i-2 in. louLi:; lis. in short racemes 

 on naked twiL;-s, aiiiiearing Ind'ore the Ivs.; corolla 

 nearlv cylindrical, white or pink: bracts small, decidu- 

 ous : berrv 1 1 lack, ^\■itll or withoiit bloom. Swamps, 

 southern Va. to Fla. and La. B.B. 2:577. B.:\[, :;522. 

 B.K. 4:1502 (as \'. fiisrtituru) .—T\\i' distinction between 

 this species and the next is very slight. It is pmhalile 

 that, possilily excepting var. fcj/(7//n*;, this is only a 

 soutliern form of I', cornnihosum- and should l)e re- 

 duced to varietal rank. 



Var. ten^llum, Gray f 1'. ieuylhon. Ait., not Pursh). 

 A low form, nn'stly less than 2 ft., with smaller Ivs. 

 an-1 nearly white fls. iu short, close clusters. Southern 

 Va. to Ark., Fla. and Ala. — Probably a distinct species. 



18. corymb6sum, Linn. Hnui - rush BLt-RRERRv. 

 Sw.\Mf HreKLEHERRY. Fig. 2fi;n. A tall, sirau^Lrling 

 shrub, -4-12 ft. high, with yellowish green w-arly branch- 



