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Species
Vaccinium corymbosum L.
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NCBI
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Isosyntype for Vaccinium caesariense Mack.
Catalog Number: US 647742
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): K. K. Mackenzie
Year Collected: 1907
Locality: Tom's River., Ocean, New Jersey, United States, North America
- Isosyntype: Mackenzie, K. K. 1910. Torreya. 10: 230.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=2129561 |
More info for the term: shrub
Shrub
More info for the term: natural
The principal components of highbush blueberry berries are water,
sugars, crude proteins, vitamins, fats (in seeds), and fiber [26]. They
are a good source of vitamin C and natural sugars and contain moderate
amounts of trace minerals and other vitamins [17]. One-half cup of
berries contains 41 calories, 1.96 grams of dietary fiber, and 9.6 mg of
vitamin C [17].
Vander Kloet and Austin-Smith [27] reported that seed and pulp energy
varied considerably among highbush blueberries from three geographic
locations. Northern plants produced fruit with low seed energy and high
pulp energy, while southern plants produced fruit with high seed energy
and low pulp energy. Mean pulp caloric values for three populations
varied as follows:
Florida - 52 calories/berry
Nova Scotia - 141 calories/berry
Ontario - 184 calories/berry
Vaccinium corymbosum, blueberry or highbush blueberry, sometimes known as whortleberry, is a deciduous shrub in the Ericaceae (heath family) that is native to eastern North America and is the source of most commercially cultivated blueberries and blueberry varieties, and is now cultivated in temperate regions of Europe and New Zealand, as well as North America.
Other commercially important species of blueberries include the lowbush blueberry, V. angustifolium, which is the source of many wild-harvested blueberries in Canada and Maine, and rabbiteye blueberry, V. ashei, which is cultivated in the southeastern U.S. There are also numerous other wild blueberry species, some of which are may also be called bilberries, although the name bilberry often refers specifically to V. myrtillus.
V. corymbosum is a shrub that can reach heights of nearly 7 m (15 ft), although generally grows to 1.5 m (5 ft) in cultivated varieties and typical sites. The alternate, simple leaves are oval to elliptical, up to 8 cm (3 in) long. The white to pinkish campanulate (bell-shaped) or tubular 4-parted flowers are borne in lateral clusters of several flowers each. The fruits are berries that ripen to blue or blackish purple, sometimes with a glaucous bloom (waxy coating), and are around 1.5 cm (5/16 in) in diameter, larger than many wild blueberry species; recently developed cultivars may have even bigger fruit.
Blueberries are rich dietary sources of vitamins C and K and the mineral manganese, are eaten fresh and prepared in juices, jams and jellies, syrups, sorbets, and compotes, as well as popular baked goods including muffins and pies. They may also be preserved by freezing or drying.
V. corymbosum typically grows in bogs or bog edges and wet sandy places, or in hummocks in tamarack swamps (Larix laricina) or fens, and rarely in drier uplands; it tolerates the acidic conditions typical of these areas. North American Vaccinium species, including the widespread V. corymbosum, are an important food source for numerous species of mammals and birds, and are estimated to make up 2 to 5% of the diet of 57 species.
Vaccinium species were an important food source for native peoples of North America for many centuries, but were generally wild-harvested, sometimes in managed stands, rather than cultivated. The development of cultivated varieties of blueberries occurred only since the late 1800s, making this one of the most recently domesticated fruit crops.
The FAO estimates that the total commercial harvest of blueberries (of all species) in 2010 was 312,047 metric tons, harvested from 74,649 hectares worldwide. The U.S. was the leading producer, generating 60% of the harvest, while Canada contributed another 27%, followed by Poland and Germany. Within the U.S., Michigan is the leading producer of cultivated blueberries, with 25% of the 2010 crop, while other states with significant harvests include Georgia, Oregon, New Jersey, and Washington. Maine has a large blueberry industry, but it is primarily based on wild-harvested, rather than cultivated, berries. These figures likely underestimate the full economic importance of blueberries, as many fruits are wild-harvested for local, rather than commercial use.
(Bailey et al. 1976, FAOSTAT 2012, Flora of North America 2012, Hedrick 1919, Martin et al. 1951, USDA 2012, van Wyk 2005.)
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Jacqueline Courteau, Jacqueline Courteau |
Source | No source database. |
Isolectotype for Vaccinium simulatum Small
Catalog Number: US 41033
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: ; Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): T. H. Kearney
Year Collected: 1893
Locality: Big Black Mountain, Harlan County., Harlan, Kentucky, United States, North America
- Isolectotype: Small, J. K. 1903. Fl. S.E. U.S. 896, 1336.; Uttal, L. J. 1986. Sida. 11: 397.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/botany/?irn=10085487 |
More info on this topic.
In the southern portion of its range, highbush blueberry flowers
sporadically over a 2- to 3-month period. North of latitude 44 degrees
N., flowering is synchronous and lasts a maximum of 25 days [24].
Flowers open as the leaves unfold or rarely when the leaves are half
developed [21]. Fruiting begins about 62 days after flowering and is
thus asynchronous in the south and synchronous in the north. Vander
Kloet and Austin-Smith [27] speculate that the fruit ripening patterns
of highbush blueberry may be related to the nutritional needs of avian
seed dispersers. Mass fruiting in the north occurs in summer when avian
dispersers are numerous.
Beginning of anthesis is as follows [24]:
south Florida - mid-February
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, northern Florida - March
Piedmont - early April
Appalachians and Ouachitas - late April to early May
Carolinas - late March to early April
Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey - late April to early May
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, New England - early to late May
southern Ontario, Michigan - mid-May to early June
eastern Ontario, Quebec - early June to late June
southwestern Nova Scotia - mid-June
Fruit ripening is as follows [24]:
Florida - early April until November
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina - May to June, but not until
August in the mountains
Michigan to Quebec, New York and New England - July and August
Highbush blueberry fruit was eaten by Native Americans. Leaves and
flowers were used for various medicinal purposes [26].
Highbush blueberry is one of the most agriculturally important
blueberries of North America. It is extensively cultivated in New
Jersey, Michigan, North Carolina, and Washington and to a lesser extent
in Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York,
Massachusetts, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia [26].
In 1989, there were over 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) in commercial
highbush blueberry production in North America [8]. Berry yields in
commercial fields often average 2 to 2.5 tons per acre (4.5-5.5 t/ha)
[8]. Since the 1920's, more than 50 highbush cultivars have been
developed [26].
Vaccinium formosum Andrews
Distribution
Wet pine flatwoods (WPF-T), wet pine savannas (SPS-T, SPS-RF, WLPS).
Notes
Occasional. Late Feb–May ; Jun–Aug . Thornhill 147, 150, 166, 173, 183, 264, 303, 305 (NCSC). Specimens seen in the vicinity: Sandy Run [Hancock]: Taggart SARU 23 (WNC!). [< Vaccinium corymbosum L. sensu RAB, FNA; = Weakley]
License | Public Domain |
Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/67B1476A14FF7A04EEBB399CD05A752A |
More info for the term: xeric
Highbush blueberry is intolerant of shade [18]. Along the Atlantic
Coast and in the Great Lakes region, highbush blueberry is most
frequently found at relatively low elevations along the edges of swamps
and bogs; along the sandy margins of lakes, ponds, and streams; and
within open areas of moist woods [18,26]. It is less abundant in
flatwoods, gray birch (Betula populifolia) scrubland, pine barrens,
bayheads, upland ericaceous meadows, upland woods, ravines, and mountain
summits. It rarely occurs in xeric pine-oak woods and cut-over pine
savannas [26].
Highbush blueberry grows best on hummocks or raised bogs which provide
moist, acidic, well-aerated, highly-organic soils optimal for growth
[17,18]. It is typically observed on soil with pH values between 2.7
and 6.6 and where nitrogen and phosphorus are quite low [24]. Plants
can withstand extended periods of flooding [1].