Vaccinium padifolium.jpg
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''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of
shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s or
dwarf shrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...
s in the
heath family The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...
(Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry,
blueberry Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...
, bilberry (whortleberry), lingonberry (cowberry), and huckleberry. Like many other ericaceous plants, they are generally restricted to acidic soils.


Description

The plant structure varies between species: some trail along the ground, some are
dwarf shrub A subshrub (Latin ''suffrutex'') or dwarf shrub is a short shrub, and is a woody plant. Prostrate shrub is a related term. "Subshrub" is often used interchangeably with "bush".Jackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Der ...
s, and some are larger shrubs perhaps tall. Some tropical species are
epiphytic An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
. Stems are usually woody. Flowers are epigynous with fused petals, and have long styles that protrude from their bell-shaped corollas. Stamens have anthers with extended tube-like structures called "awns" through which pollen falls when mature. Inflorescences can be axillary or terminal. The fruit develops from an inferior ovary, and is a four- or five-parted
berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
; it is usually brightly coloured, often being red or bluish with purple juice. Roots are commonly
mycorrhiza   A mycorrhiza (from Greek μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; pl. mycorrhizae, mycorrhiza or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant ...
l, which likely help the plants to access nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the acidic, nutrient-poor soils they inhabit.


Taxonomy

The genus was first described scientifically by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name ''Vaccinium'' was used in classical Latin for a plant, possibly the bilberry or a
hyacinth Hyacinth or Hyacinthus may refer to: Nature Plants * Hyacinth (plant), genus ''Hyacinthus'' ** ''Hyacinthus orientalis'', common hyacinth * Grape hyacinth, ''Muscari'', a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia * Hyacinth bean, ''Labl ...
, and may be derived from the Latin ''bacca'', berry, although its ultimate derivation is obscure. It is not the same word as ''Vaccinum'' "of or pertaining to cows". The taxonomy of the genus is complex, and still under investigation. Genetic analyses indicates that the genus ''Vaccinium'' is not
monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
. A number of the Asian species are more closely related to ''
Agapetes ''Agapetes'' (Gk. ἀγαπητός (agapetos) = 'beloved') is a semi-climbing shrub genus native to the Himalayas, grown as an ornamental for its attractive pendulous bunches of red tubular flowers blooming over a long period. It is mostly grow ...
'' than to other ''Vaccinium'' species. A second group includes most of '' Orthaea'' and ''
Notopora ''Notopora'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The ...
'', at least some of ''
Gaylussacia ''Gaylussacia'' is a genus of about fifty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to the Americas, where they occur in eastern North America and in South America in the Andes and the mountains of southeastern Brazil (the majo ...
'' (huckleberry), and a number of species from ''Vaccinium'', such as '' Vaccinium crassifolium''. Other parts of ''Vaccinium'' form other groups, sometimes together with species of other genera. The taxonomy of ''Vaccinium'' can either be resolved by enlarging the genus to include the entirety of the tribe
Vaccinieae Vaccinieae is a tribe of over 1000 species in the plant family Ericaceae. The tribe consists of morphologically diverse woody plants. Species within Vaccinieae can be found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Genetic analysis indic ...
, or by breaking the genus up into several different genera.


Subgenera

A classification predating molecular phylogeny divides ''Vaccinium'' into subgenera, and several sections: ;Subgenus ''Oxycoccus'': The cranberries, with slender, trailing, wiry non-woody shoots and strongly reflexed flower petals. Some botanists treat ''Oxycoccus'' as a distinct genus. *Sect. ''Oxycoccus'' **''
Vaccinium macrocarpon ''Vaccinium macrocarpon'' (also called large cranberry, American cranberry and bearberry) is a North American species of cranberry of the subgenus '' Oxycoccus'' and genus ''Vaccinium''. The name cranberry, comes from shape of the flower stam ...
'' – American cranberry **'' Vaccinium oxycoccos'' – common cranberry **''
Vaccinium microcarpum ''Vaccinium microcarpum'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing co ...
'' – small bog cranberry *Sect. ''Oxycoccoides'' **''
Vaccinium erythrocarpum ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (wh ...
'' – southern mountain cranberry ;Subgenus ''Vaccinium'': All the other species, with thicker, upright woody shoots and bell-shaped flowers *Sect. ''Batodendron'' **'' Vaccinium arboreum'' – sparkleberry **'' Vaccinium crassifolium'' – creeping blueberry *Sect. ''Brachyceratium'' **''
Vaccinium dependens ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whor ...
'' *Sect. ''Bracteata'' **'' Vaccinium acrobracteatum'' **''
Vaccinium barandanum ''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilbe ...
'' **''Vaccinium bracteatum'' **''Vaccinium coriaceum'' **''Vaccinium cornigerum'' **''Vaccinium cruentum'' **''Vaccinium hooglandii'' **''Vaccinium horizontale'' **''Vaccinium laurifolium'' **''Vaccinium lucidum'' **''Vaccinium myrtoides'' **''Vaccinium phillyreoides'' **''Vaccinium reticulatovenosum'' **''Vaccinium sparsum'' **''Vaccinium varingifolium'' *Sect. ''Ciliata'' **''Vaccinium ciliatum'' **''Vaccinium oldhamii'' - Japanese blueberry *Sect. ''Cinctosandra'' **''Vaccinium exul'' *Sect. ''Conchophyllum'' **''Vaccinium corymbodendron'' **''Vaccinium delavayi'' **''Vaccinium emarginatum'' **''Vaccinium griffithianum'' **''Vaccinium meridionale'' **''Vaccinium moupinense'' – Himalayan blueberry **''Vaccinium neilgherrense'' **''Vaccinium nummularia'' **''Vaccinium retusum'' *Sect. ''Cyanococcus'' – typical North American blueberry, blueberries **''Vaccinium angustifolium'' – lowbush blueberry - also known as ''Vaccinium stenophyllum'' **''Vaccinium boreale'' – northern blueberry **''Vaccinium caesariense'' – New Jersey blueberry **''Vaccinium corymbosum'' – highbush blueberry **''Vaccinium darrowii'' – evergreen blueberry **''Vaccinium elliottii'' – Elliott's blueberry **''Vaccinium formosum'' **''Vaccinium fuscatum'' – black highbush blueberry; syn. ''V. atrococcum'' **''Vaccinium hirsutum'' **''Vaccinium myrsinites'' – evergreen blueberry **''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' – Canadian blueberry **''Vaccinium pallidum'' Ait. – dryland blueberry (images); syn. ''V. vacillans'' Torr. **''Vaccinium simulatum'' **''Vaccinium tenellum'' **''Vaccinium virgatum'' – rabbiteye blueberry; syn. ''V. ashei'' *Sect. ''Eococcus'' **''Vaccinium fragile'' *Sect. ''Epigynium'' **''Vaccinium vacciniaceum'' *Sect. ''Galeopetalum'' **''Vaccinium chunii'' **''Vaccinium dunalianum'' **''Vaccinium glaucoalbum'' **''Vaccinium sikkimense'' (may not be treated as a separate species from ''V. glaucoalbum'') **''Vaccinium urceolatum'' *Sect. ''Hemimyrtillus'' **''Vaccinium arctostaphylos'' **''Vaccinium cylindraceum'' **''Vaccinium hirtum'' **''Vaccinium padifolium'' **''Vaccinium smallii'' *Sect. ''Koreanum'' **''Vaccinium koreanum'' – Korean blueberry *Sect. ''Myrtillus'' (including sect. ''Macropelma'') – bilberry, bilberries and relatives. Monophyly of this section has been confirmed by matK and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequence data. **''Vaccinium calycinum'' James Edward Smith (botanist), Sm. – (Hawaii, Hawaii) **''Vaccinium cereum'' (L.f.) Forst.f. – east Polynesian blueberry, Pacific blueberry **''Vaccinium cespitosum'' – dwarf bilberry **''Vaccinium deliciosum'' – Cascade bilberry, Cascade blueberry, blueleaf huckleberry **''Vaccinium dentatum'' James Edward Smith (botanist), Sm. – (Hawaii) **''Vaccinium membranaceum'' – square-twig blueberry, thinleaf huckleberry, tall huckleberry, big huckleberry, mountain huckleberry, "black huckleberry" **''Vaccinium myrtillus'' – common bilberry, blue whortleberry, blaeberry, fraughan, hurtleberry **''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' – Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf blueberry **''Vaccinium parvifolium'' – red huckleberry **Vaccinium praestans – ''krasnika'' (russian: :ru:красника, красника), Kamchatka bilberry **''Vaccinium reticulatum'' – (Hawaii) **''Vaccinium scoparium'' – grouse whortleberry, grouseberry, littleleaf huckleberry *Sect. ''Neurodesia'' **''Vaccinium crenatum'' *Sect. ''Oarianthe'' **''Vaccinium ambyandrum'' **''Vaccinium cyclopense'' *Sect. ''Oreades'' **''Vaccinium poasanum'' *Sect. ''Pachyanthum'' **''Vaccinium fissiflorum'' *Sect. ''Polycodium'' **''Vaccinium stamineum'' Carl Linnaeus, L. – deerberry; syn. ''V. caesium'' (eastern North America) (images) *Sect. ''Pyxothamnus'' **''Vaccinium consanguineum'' **''Vaccinium floribundum'' **''Vaccinium ovatum'' Frederick Traugott Pursh, Pursh – California huckleberry (or evergreen huckleberry) (coastal western North America). First collected and described for western science by Meriwether Lewis. *Sect. ''Vaccinium'' **''Vaccinium uliginosum'' Carl Linnaeus, L. – northern (or bog) bilberry (or blueberry); syn. ''V. occidentale'' (northern North America and Eurasia) *Sect. ''Vitis-idaea'' **''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' Carl Linnaeus, L. – partridgeberry, cowberry, redberry, red whortleberry, or lingonberry (northern North America and Eurasia)


Distribution and habitat

The genus contains about 450 species, which are found mostly in the cooler areas of the Northern Hemisphere, although there are tropical species from areas as widely separated as Madagascar and Hawaii. The genus is distributed worldwide except for Australia and Antarctica, but areas of great ''Vaccinium'' diversity include the montane regions of North and South America, as well as Southeast Asia. Species are still being discovered in the Andes. Plants of this group typically require acidic soils, and as wild plants they live in habitats such as heath (habitat), heath, bog and acidic woodland (for example, blueberries under oaks or pines). Blueberry plants are commonly found in oak-heath forests in eastern North America. ''Vaccinium'' is found in both successional and stable sites, and is fire-adapted in many regions, withstanding low-intensity burns, and re-sprouting from rhizomes when above-ground tissues are burned off.


Ecology

''Vaccinium'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of a number of Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species – see list of Lepidoptera that feed on Vaccinium, list of Lepidoptera that feed on ''Vaccinium''. Berries of North American species nourish a variety of mammals and birds, notably including the grizzly bear.


Fossil record

Two fossil seeds of †''Vaccinium minutulum'' have been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.


Production

Blueberry, Blueberries (sect. Cyanococcus) and Cranberry, cranberries (sect. Oxycoccus) are relatively newly cultivated plants, and are largely unchanged from their wild relatives. Genetic breeding of blueberries began around the turn of the 20th century, and was spearheaded by Frederick Coville who performed many cross-breeding trials and produced dozens of new blueberry cultivars. He often tested new cultivars for their flavor, and claimed that after a long day of tasting, "all blueberries taste the same, and all taste sour."


See also

*Malea pilosa *
Gaylussacia ''Gaylussacia'' is a genus of about fifty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to the Americas, where they occur in eastern North America and in South America in the Andes and the mountains of southeastern Brazil (the majo ...
*Blueberry


References


External links


''Vaccinium'' information from U.S. National Plant Germplasm SystemBritish Towns and Villages Network, ''Vaccinium''; Species of the Genus ''Vaccinium''
{{Authority control Vaccinium, Ericaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Subshrubs