CHAP. LXIX. 



£R1CA'CE/E. TACCI NIUM. 



1157 



Stem acutely angular, smooth. Calyx hardly 

 divided. Corolla globose, generally 5-cleft, of* a 

 very delicate, waxy, pink hue. (Don's Mill., iii. 

 p. 852.) A shrub, from 6 in. to 2 ft. high ; a 

 native of heaths, stony moors, and mountain 

 woods, throughout most parts of Europe, es- 

 pecially the more northern countries ; and also 

 in the north of Africa and Asia ; and at Nootka 

 Sound and Nova Scotia, in America. It is plen- 

 tiful in Britain and Ireland, and also in Iceland. 

 According to H. C. Watson, it becomes pro- 

 cumbent about the subalpine zone in England, 

 and rarely produces flowers. Only the loftiest 

 mountains in Scotland rise sufficiently high to 

 arrest its ascent. It is seen on the summit of 

 Ben Lawers, 4000 ft. above the level of the sea, and on some other moun- 

 tains rather higher. In general, it grows at elevations of from 200 ft. to 

 600 ft. higher than jE'mpetrum nigrum. It is found in every country in 

 Britain, from Cornwall to Caithness, least frequently in the south-eastern 

 countries, and increases in quantity as we advance northward. " This 

 is one of the species," Mr. Watson observes, " that, if allowed, would over- 

 run Britain, and form, with Calluna vulgaris and 2£'mpetrum nigrum, much 

 of the natural physiognomical character of its vegetation." (Outlines, &c, 

 p. 201.) The berries of this species are of a bluish black, about the size 

 of currants, and covered with a mealy bloom : they are eaten in tarts, 

 or with cream, or made into jelly, in the northern and western counties of 

 England and Scotland ; and, in other parts of the country, they are made 

 into pies and puddings. In Devonshire, the berries are eaten with clotted 

 cream; in Poland, mixed with wood strawberries, and eaten with new 

 milk, they are considered a great delicacy. Their juice has been em- 

 ployed to stain paper or linen purple. In autumn, many kinds of game 

 live upon their berries, and the plant affords them shelter. In gardens, 

 it may be cultivated in sandy peat, kept moist, in a situation airy, but 

 somewhat shaded. 

 Variety. 



j* V. M. 2 bdccis dllns has white fruit. At the moment when we were 



writing this article (June 6. 1836), Mr. John Booth of the Floet- 



beck Nursery, near Hamburg, called on us, and, among other 



information, stated that a patch of 154 plants of this variety had 



lately been discovered in the Black Forest, and that he had plants 



of it for sale. 



Mr. Menzies brought from the west coast of North America specimens 



of what may be considered as a gigantic variety of V. Myrtillus, which 



he found growing there to the height of 7 ft. or 8 ft.; but it has not yet been 



introduced. 



j*. 2. V. uligino v sum L. The bog Whortleberry, or great Bilberry. 



Identification. Lin. Spec, 499. ; Smith Eng. Fl.,2. p. 210. ; Don's Mill., 3. p 851. ; LodcL Cat., ed. 1836. 



St/nonyme. Myrtillus grandis Bauh. Hist., 1. p. 518. 



Engravings. Eng. Bot, t.581. ; Fl. Dan., t. 231. ; and our fig. 970. 



Spec. Cfiar. y fyc. Pedicels somewhat aggregate, 1 -flowered. Leaves obovate, 

 entire, smooth. Branches terete. Taller than the common bilberry, and 

 of a more glaucous hue. Leaves glaucous beneath. Flowers flesh- 

 coloured, with 8 long-horned stamens. Berries large, juicy, black, and 

 covered with a mealy bloom. (Don's Mitt., iii. p. 852.) A shrub, about 

 2 ft. high ; a native of Sweden, Germany, Siberia, Switzerland, Savoy, 

 Scotland, and the north of England; as well as in the more northern parts 

 of America, and on its west coast ; and on the Island of Sitcha, and in the 

 north of Asia, in marshy mountain heaths and alpine bogs. In Scotland, 



4g 4 



