VACCINIUM. 



Seft. 2. Leaves evergreen. 



24. V. meriiiionak. Jamaica Whortle-berry. Swartz 

 Ind. Occ. 676. Willd. n. 22. Ait. n. 17. — Cluftersereft, 

 downy. Bratteas folitary, ovate. Leaves ovate, crenate, 

 permanent, fmootli. Stem arboreous. — Native of the lofty 

 Blue mountains in the fouthern part of Jamaica, flowering in 

 February, and ripening fruit in Auguft. This is from ten 

 to thirty feet high, with a very ftraight fmooth trunk, and 

 hard wood. Branches ilraight, fpreading, leafy, round ; 

 downy when young. Leaves rigid, an inch or rather more 

 in length, on (liort, broad, downy7?(7W'J', flat, and fomewhat 

 Ihining, veiny ; paler beneath. Clujlers folitary near the 

 end of laft year's branches, twice as long as the leaves ; their 

 partial Jlalhs naked, except a large, folitary, ovate, fmooth, 

 coloured, deciduous hraRea, at the bafe of each, and equal 

 to it in length. Flowers drooping, reddifli-white. Calyx 

 in four broad, acute, permanent fegments. Corolla ovate, 

 quadrangular before expanfion, contrafted at the mouth, with 

 four acute, recurved, marginal fegments. Stamens eight, as 

 long as the corolla, iheirj/ilaments hairy in the middle. Dr. 

 Swartz miftakes the tubular points of the anthers for horns 

 or fpurs. Style the length of the corolla. Berry roundifli, 

 juicy, pleafantly flavoured, pale red, refembling that of 



y. F'ltis idna. The Jlotuers are very rarely five-cleft and 

 decandrous. 



25. V. cereum. Otaheite Whortle-berry. Forft. Prodr. 

 28. Willd. n. 25. (Andromeda cerea ; Linn. Suppl. 238.) 

 — Stalks axillary, folitary, fingle-flowered, with two lanceo- 

 late brafteas about the middle. Leaves roundifla-ovate, fer- 

 rated, fmooth, permanent. Calyx in five broad pointed 

 fegments. — Gathered by Foriler in Otaheite. The branches 

 are round, fmooth, leafy ; fiightly downy when young. 

 Leaves about an inch long, pointed, coriaceous, veiny, twice 

 the length of the fmooth fimple Jloiver-Jlalis. Corolla ovate- 

 oblong, with five angles, and five ereft fmall fegments. 

 Anthers, according to Linnasus, with two dorfal horns. 



26. V. Vitis idtra. Red Whortle-berry, or Cow-berry. 

 Linn. Sp. PI. 500. Willd. n. 24. Fl. Brit. n. 3. Engl. 

 Bot. t. 598. Purfli n. 18. Fl. Dan. t. 40. (Vaccinia 

 rubra; Ger. Em. 1415. Vitis idxa rubra; Camer. Epit. 

 136.) — Clufl;ers terminal, drooping; with ovate concave 

 brafteas, longer than the flower-ftalks. Leaves obovate, 

 revolute, minutely toothed; dotted beneath. CoroUa bell- 

 fhaped. — Native of dry barren ftony woods and heaths, in 

 the north of Europe, plentiful in Scotland, Weftmoreland, 

 Derbyftiire, Wales, &c. flowering in June, and ripening fruit 

 in Augxift. Mr. Purfli fays it occurs on rocks near the fea- 

 coaft, from Canada to New England, but the American 

 plant is more robufl; than the European, with confiderably 

 larger leaves. The roots are creeping, woody. Stems afcend- 

 ing, in England about a fpan high, wavy, but little 

 branched, fmooth, leafy ; young branches round, downy. 

 Leaves evergreen, fomewhat like box, but darker on the 

 upper fide, fmooth and fliining. Flowers pale pink, four- 

 cleft, in elegant, denfe, folitary, pendulous clujlers. Calyx 

 in four deep, broad, ovate, red fegments. Anthers without 

 horns. Stigma fmall, flightly notched. Berries blood-red, 

 acid, auftere and bitter, lefs palatable in tarts than either the 

 Cranberry or Bilberry, but excellent in a rob or jelly, for 

 colds and fort -throats, as well as to eat with roafl; meat, to 

 which latter purpofe this jelly is univerfally appUed by the 

 Swedes. 



27. V. myrlifolium. Myrtle-leaved Black Whortle- 

 berry. Michaux Boreal. -Amcr. v. I. 229. Purfli n. 19. — 

 " Creeping, quite fmooth. Leaves ft.alked, oval, iTiining, 

 revolute, fparingly and minutely toothed. Cluflers axillary, 



nearly feffile, of few flowers. Corolla bell-fliaped, fome- 

 what inflated, minutely five-toothed. Anthers without dor- 

 fal horns." — Found by Michaux only, in Carolina. He 

 defcribes the berries as fmaU, globofe, crowned with the 

 calyx, black, on fliort ftalks. 



28. V. crajfifolium. Thick-leaved Whortle-berrj'. Andr. 

 Repof. t. 105. Ait. n. 19. Purfli n. 20. Curt. Mag. 

 I. 1 152. — Clufl;ers lateral and terminal, corymbofe. Brac- 

 teas Ihorter than the flower-ftalks. Leaves elliptical, cre- 

 nate, fmooth ; paler and veiny beneath. Corolla bell-fliaped. 

 Stem diifufe. — Brought by Mr. Frafer from Carolina, in 

 1787. It flowers in May and June. A traihng evergreen 

 fpecies, requiring fome fhelter from our variable winters and 

 fprings. The leaves are not an inch long ; their upper fur- 

 face very fmooth and even, with a little minute pubefcence 

 on the mid-rib 7i.n&foolJlalk. Flowers five-cleft, prettily va- 

 riegated with pink and white, drooping, on red cor^-mbofe 



Jlalhs. Stamens hairy. We have no account of thej^rurV. 



29. V. villofum. Hairy Mexican Whortle-berry. — Cluf- 

 ters longer than the leaves. Flower -fl;alks, calyx, corolla 

 and lanceolate brafteas denfely hairy. Leaves elliptical, 

 entire, revolute, coriaceous, with a blunt point ; hairy on 

 the upper fide. — Sent by Mutis to Linnaeus from Mexico. 

 The branches are round, leafy, denfely hairy when young. 

 Leaves crowded, an inch long, on thick downy footjlalks ; 

 their upper fide convex ; under paler, veiny, fcarcely hairy, 

 except the rib. Clujlers towards the ends of the younger 

 branches, axillary, denfe, drooping, nearly twice as long as 

 tlie leaves, very hairy all over, the germen particularly. 

 Brafleas coloured, internally fmooth ; thofe of the partial 

 ftalks very narrow. Calyx in five deep, lanceolate, denfely 

 fringed fegments. Corolla purplifli, oblong, with five 

 hairy angles, and as many imall recurved teeth. Fruit 

 unknown, but the habit, and the inferior germen, fufficiently ' 

 announce the genus. 



30. V. reticulatum. Reticulated South-fea Whortle- 

 berry Stalks axillary, folitary, fingle-flowered, downy. 



Leaves obovate, more or lefs ferrated, coriaceous, with a 

 blunt point ; ftrongly reticulated on both fides and nearly 

 fmooth. Germen hairy. — Gathered by Mr. Menzies, in 

 woods on high mountains, in the Sandwich iflands. — Tiie 

 branches are leafy ; when young angular and finely downy. 

 Leaves an inch long, remarkable for their reticulated veins, 

 prominent on both fides ; their margin fomewhat revolute, 

 ftrongly ferrated, but fometimes nearly entire. Flower- 



JlalL's numerous, ereft, about an inch long, fwelling upwards, 

 without bracleas ; reflexed as the fruit advances. Calyx in 

 four or five deep, oblong, ribbed, downy, coloured feg- 

 ments, at length involute. Corolla cylindrical, thrice as 1 

 long as the calyx, purple, flightly hairy, with four or five 

 upright blunt teeth. Style hairy, fliorter than the corolla. 

 Berry globular, deprefled, nearly or quite fmooth. 



31. V. dentatum. Toothed South-fea Whortle-berry — 

 Stalks axillary, folitary, fingle-flowered, fmooth. Leaves 

 obovate, with fliarp tooth-like ferratures, coriaceous, veiny, 

 very fmooth. Calyx longer than the fmooth germen. — • 

 Found by Mr. Menzies, m woods on the lofty mountains of 

 the Sandwich iflands. The branches of this are angular, 

 always fmooth, like every other part. Leaves rather longer 

 than the laft, more ftrongly and uniformly toothed, vrith 

 lefs prominent veins. Flowerjlalhs naked and fmooth ; re-' 

 curved when in fruit. Calyx in five deep, oblong, obtufe, 

 fmooth, keeled fegments, longer than the germen, even 

 after the corolla is fallen, which latter is wanting in our 

 fpecimens. 



32. V. nitidum. Glofl"y Whortle-berry. Andr. Repof. 



t. 480. 



