''Vaccinium elliottii'' (Elliott's blueberry) is a species of ''

Vaccinium ''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 ...

'' in the blueberry group (''Vaccinium'' sect. ''Cyanococcus''). It is native to the southeastern and south-central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, from southeastern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

south to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and west to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Growth

''Vaccinium elliottii'' is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

shrub tall, with small, simple ovoid-acute leaves long with a finely serrated margin. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are pale pink, bell-shaped, 6–8 mm long, opening in the early spring before the new leaves appear. 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 ...

is an edible berry 5–8 mm diameter. There are two variants one having tart shiny blue black berries and the other sweeter type having a whitish waxy bloom over the otherwise blue black berries; they ripen from late spring (in Florida) through summer (in Arkansas and Virginia).

Cultivation and uses

''Vaccinium elliottii'' produces a particularly large yield of somewhat sour berries. It is popular for late-season fruit.

Gallery

Image:Vaccinium elliottii1.jpg, ''Vaccinium elliottii'' - Leaves Image:Unripe Elliot Blueberry.jpg, An unripe Elliott's blueberry, the actual berry is at the picture's bottom.

References

External links

*
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile: ''Vaccinium elliottii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7907963 elliotti Blueberries Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Plants described in 1860 Taxa named by Alvan Wentworth Chapman

Growth

Cultivation and uses

Gallery

See also

References

External links