''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus '' Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species '' Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

, blueberry,

bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is '' Vaccinium myrtill ...

(whortleberry),

lingonberry ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

(cowberry), and

huckleberry Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and '' Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho. Nomenclature The name 'huckleberry' is a No ...

. Like many other ericaceous plants, they are generally restricted to

acidic soil Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the n ...

Description

The plant structure varies between species: some trail along the ground, some are dwarf shrubs, 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 In the flowering plants, an ovary is a part of the female reproductive organ of the flower or gynoecium. Specifically, it is the part of the pistil which holds the ovule(s) and is located above or below or at the point of connection with the bas ...

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

develops from an inferior ovary, and is a four- or five-parted berry; it is usually brightly coloured, often being red or bluish with purple juice. Roots are commonly mycorrhizal, 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 Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...

in 1753. The name ''Vaccinium'' was used in

classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later period ...

for a plant, possibly the

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, ''L ...

, 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

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

s". The

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

of the genus is complex, and still under investigation. Genetic analyses indicates that the genus ''Vaccinium'' is not monophyletic. A number of the Asian species are more closely related to '' Agapetes'' than to other ''Vaccinium'' species. A second group includes most of '' Orthaea'' and '' Notopora'', 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 ''Vaccinium crassifolium'', the creeping blueberry, is a species of ''Vaccinium'' in the heath family. It is native to the four southeastern U.S. states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It is an evergreen shrub with shin ...

''. 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 Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

divides ''Vaccinium'' into subgenera, and several sections: ;Subgenus ''Oxycoccus'': The

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

, with slender, trailing, wiry non-woody shoots and strongly reflexed flower petals. Some botanists treat ''Oxycoccus'' as a distinct genus. *Sect. ''Oxycoccus'' **'' Vaccinium macrocarpon'' – American cranberry **''

Vaccinium oxycoccos ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family. It is known as small cranberry, marshberry, bog cranberry, swamp cranberry, or, particularly in Britain, just cranberry. It is widespread throughout the cool temperate ...

'' – common cranberry **'' Vaccinium microcarpum'' – 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 ''Vaccinium arboreum'' (sparkleberry or farkleberry) is a species of ''Vaccinium'' native to the southeastern and south-central United States, from southern Virginia west to southeastern Nebraska, south to Florida and eastern Texas, and north to ...

'' – sparkleberry **''

'' – creeping blueberry *Sect. ''Brachyceratium'' **'' Vaccinium dependens'' *Sect. ''Bracteata'' **'' Vaccinium acrobracteatum'' **'' Vaccinium barandanum'' **'' Vaccinium bracteatum'' **'' Vaccinium coriaceum'' **'' Vaccinium cornigerum'' **'' Vaccinium cruentum'' **''

Vaccinium hooglandii ''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 (whort ...

'' **'' Vaccinium horizontale'' **'' Vaccinium laurifolium'' **'' Vaccinium lucidum'' **'' Vaccinium myrtoides'' **'' Vaccinium phillyreoides'' **''

Vaccinium reticulatovenosum ''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 (whort ...

'' **'' 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 meridionale'', agraz or Andean blueberry, is a species in the section ''Pyxothamnus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium'', in the heath and heather family. It is found in the mountains of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela and may have been intr ...

'' **'' Vaccinium moupinense'' – Himalayan blueberry **'' Vaccinium neilgherrense'' **'' Vaccinium nummularia'' **'' Vaccinium retusum'' *Sect. ''Cyanococcus'' – typical North American blueberries **''

Vaccinium angustifolium ''Vaccinium angustifolium'', commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada (from Manitoba to Newfoundland) and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as the Great Smoky ...

'' – lowbush blueberry - also known as '' Vaccinium stenophyllum'' **''

Vaccinium boreale ''Vaccinium boreale,'' common name northern blueberry, sweet hurts, or bleuet boréal (in French), is a plant species native to the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. It has been found in Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundla ...

'' – northern blueberry **''

Vaccinium caesariense ''Vaccinium caesariense'' (New Jersey blueberry) is native to the Eastern United States. It is a species in the genus ''Vaccinium'', which includes blueberries, cranberries, huckleberry, and bilberries. Distribution and habitat ''Vaccinium caesa ...

'' – New Jersey blueberry **''

Vaccinium corymbosum ''Vaccinium corymbosum'', the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from O ...

'' – 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 ''Vaccinium myrsinites'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common name shiny blueberry. It is native to the southeastern United States from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. It may occur as far west as ...

'' – evergreen blueberry **''

Vaccinium myrtilloides ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a shrub with common names including common blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry, velvetleaf blueberry, Canadian blueberry, and sourtop blueberry. It is common in much of North America, reported from all 10 Canadian provi ...

'' – Canadian blueberry **'' Vaccinium pallidum'' Ait. – dryland blueberry (images); syn. ''V. vacillans'' Torr. **'' Vaccinium simulatum'' **'' Vaccinium tenellum'' **''

Vaccinium virgatum ''Vaccinium virgatum'' (commonly known as rabbit-eye blueberry, smallflower blueberry or southern black blueberry ) is a species of blueberry native to the Southeastern United States, from North Carolina south to Florida and west to Texas. Descr ...

'' – 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 cylindraceum'', known by its common names such as Azores blueberry, (Portuguese: uva-da-serra, uva-do-mato) is a semi-deciduous species of ''Vaccinium'' endemic to the Azores. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of G ...

'' **''

Vaccinium hirtum ''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 (whort ...

'' **''

Vaccinium padifolium ''Vaccinium padifolium'' (Madeira blueberry) is very common at elevations between . It grows mainly in crevices and exposed slopes and mountain plains. Fruits are used in preserves. It is endemic to the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, Portugal ...

'' **'' Vaccinium smallii'' *Sect. ''Koreanum'' **'' Vaccinium koreanum'' – Korean blueberry *Sect. ''Myrtillus'' (including sect. ''Macropelma'') –

bilberries Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus '' Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrti ...

and relatives. Monophyly of this section has been confirmed by matK and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequence data. **'' Vaccinium calycinum''

Sm. __NOTOC__ Sir James Edward Smith (2 December 1759 – 17 March 1828) was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society. Early life and education Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a ...

– (

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

) **'' Vaccinium cereum'' (L.f.) Forst.f. – east Polynesian blueberry, Pacific blueberry **''

Vaccinium cespitosum ''Vaccinium cespitosum'' (also, ''caespitosum''), known as the dwarf bilberry, dwarf blueberry, or dwarf huckleberry, is a species of flowering shrub in the genus ''Vaccinium'', which includes blueberries, huckleberries, and cranberries. Descrip ...

'' – dwarf bilberry **''

Vaccinium deliciosum ''Vaccinium deliciosum'' is a species of bilberry known by the common names Cascade bilberry, Cascade blueberry, and blueleaf huckleberry. ''Vaccinium deliciosum'' is native to western North America from British Columbia to northern California w ...

'' – Cascade bilberry, Cascade blueberry, blueleaf huckleberry **'' Vaccinium dentatum''

– (Hawaii) **''

Vaccinium membranaceum ''Vaccinium membranaceum'' is a species within the group of Vaccinium commonly referred to as huckleberry. This particular species is known by the common names thinleaf huckleberry, tall huckleberry, big huckleberry, mountain huckleberry, square ...

'' – square-twig blueberry, thinleaf huckleberry, tall huckleberry, big huckleberry, mountain huckleberry, " black huckleberry" **''

Vaccinium myrtillus ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortle ...

'' –

common bilberry ''Vaccinium myrtillus'' or European blueberry is a holarctic species of shrub with edible fruit of blue color, known by the common names bilberry, blaeberry, wimberry, and whortleberry. It is more precisely called common bilberry or blue whortle ...

, blue whortleberry, blaeberry, fraughan, hurtleberry **''

Vaccinium ovalifolium ''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' (commonly known as Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf bilberry, oval-leaf blueberry, and oval-leaf huckleberry) is a plant in the heath family having three varieties, all of which grow in northerly regions, inc ...

'' – Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf blueberry **'' Vaccinium parvifolium'' –

red huckleberry ''Vaccinium parvifolium'', the red huckleberry, is a species of ''Vaccinium'' native to western North America. Description It is a deciduous shrub growing to tall with bright green shoots with an angular cross-section. The leaves are ovate to o ...

Vaccinium praestans ''Vaccinium praestans'', the Kamchatka bilberry, is a perennial shrub in the family Ericaceae, which includes species like cranberries, blueberries, and huckleberries. In Russia this plant is known as the Klopovka, or stink-bug berry, due t ...

– '' krasnika'' (russian: красника), Kamchatka bilberry **'' Vaccinium reticulatum'' – (Hawaii) **'' Vaccinium scoparium'' –

grouse whortleberry ''Vaccinium scoparium'' is a species of huckleberry known by the common names grouse whortleberry, grouseberry, and littleleaf huckleberry. It is native to western North America, primarily in the Rockies, Cascade Range, Cascades, and Black Hills ...

, 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 ''Vaccinium stamineum'', commonly known as deerberry, tall deerberry, squaw huckleberry, highbush huckleberry, buckberry, and southern gooseberry, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family.Hill, S. RConservation Assessment for Deerberr ...

'' L. – deerberry; syn. ''V. caesium'' (eastern North America) (images) *Sect. ''Pyxothamnus'' **'' Vaccinium consanguineum'' **''

Vaccinium floribundum ''Vaccinium floribundum'', commonly known as mortiño or Andean blueberry, is a slender shrub that grows in the northern Andes in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela at elevations from . It can reach high or it can be dwarf and prostr ...

'' **''

Vaccinium ovatum ''Vaccinium ovatum'' is a North American species of flowering shrub known by the common names evergreen huckleberry, winter huckleberry, cynamoka berry and California huckleberry. Distribution and ecology ''Vaccinium ovatum'' is a small to medium ...

Pursh The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

– California huckleberry (or evergreen huckleberry) (coastal western North America). First collected and described for western science by Meriwether Lewis. *Sect. ''Vaccinium'' **''

Vaccinium uliginosum ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, northern bilberry or western blueberry) is a Eurasian and North American flowering plant in the genus ''Vaccinium'' within the heath family. Distribution ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' is native ...

'' L. – northern (or bog) bilberry (or blueberry); syn. ''V. occidentale'' (northern North America and Eurasia) *Sect. ''Vitis-idaea'' **''

Vaccinium vitis-idaea ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Norther ...

'' 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 Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and

. 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 A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

, bog and acidic

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

(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

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of a number of Lepidoptera (

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

) species – see 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 A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

seeds of †''Vaccinium minutulum'' have been extracted from

borehole A borehole is a narrow shaft bored in the ground, either vertically or horizontally. A borehole may be constructed for many different purposes, including the extraction of water ( drilled water well and tube well), other liquids (such as petrol ...

samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin,

West Carpathians The Western Carpathians are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland wit ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

.Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) zczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska) Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.

Production

Blueberries (sect. Cyanococcus) and

(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."

References

External links

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

Description

Taxonomy

Subgenera

Distribution and habitat

Ecology

Fossil record

Production

See also

References

External links