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Vaccinium myrtillus

(Bilberry)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Hei Guo Yue Jie, Ou Zhou Yue Ju, Shan Sang Zi

Common Names in English:

Bilberry, Blaeberry, Burren Myrtle, Dwarf Bilberry, Dyeberry, False Huckleberry, Huckleberry, Hurtleberry, Myrtle Blueberry, Myrtle Whortleberry, Whinberry, Whiniberry, Whortleberry, Wineberry Blueberry

Common Names in French:

Airelle Noire, Ambreselle, Brimbelle, Maurettes, Myrtille, Myrtille Vraie, Raisin Des Bois

Common Names in German:

Bickbeere, Blaubeere, Heidelbeere, Schwarzbeere

Common Names in Italian:

Mirtillo

Common Names in Japanese:

Aojiku-Sunoki, Biruberii, Hime-Usunoki

Common Names in Portuguese:

Mirtilo, Uva-Do-Monte

Common Names in Spanish:

Arándano, Mirtillo, Ráspano

Description

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Family Ericaceae

Plants usually woody, or herbs, sometimes lacking chlorophyll. Leaves spiral , sometimes decussate, margin often toothed . Inflorescence racemose; bracteoles paired , basal. Flowers (4 or) 5-merous. Calyx imbricate. Corolla connate , imbricate. Stamens 10, sometimes with spurs or awns , dehiscing by pores , pollen in tetrads , rarely single. Ovary superior or inferior, placentation axile , rarely parietal , often many ovules per locule. Style ± as long as corolla, slender. Fruit a capsule or berry, rarely a drupe; calyx persistent.

About 125 genera and 4000 species: widely distributed in temperate and subarctic regions, also at high elevations in tropical regions ; 22 genera and 826 species (524 endemic) in China.

The Monotropoideae are here included in the Ericaceae; previously in FRPS (56: 157 216. 1990), they were treated as the Pyrolaceae. Chiogenes, recorded from China in FRPS (57(3) : 69 71. 1991), is here included in Gaultheria. Over the last half century, the Empetraceae have usually been separated from, but closely associated with, the Ericaceae. In their ecology, leaf morphology and insertion , rusts, embryology, stamen anatomy, etc. , they largely agree with that family . Molecular data place Empetrum and its relatives firmly within the Ericaceae, and in particular within the subfamily Ericoideae, in agreement with phytochemical and palynological data, and there they are best recognized as a separate tribe . There are distinctive features of the Empetreae that were responsible for their past familial status, e.g. , reduced perianth with separate members , low ovule number, enlarged stigmas, etc. However, these are likely to be derived features associated with wind pollination. See Kron et al. (Bot. Rev. 68: 335 423. 2002) and the recent treatment of the Ericaceae by Stevens et al. (in Kubitzki, Fam. Gen. Vasc. Pl. 6: 145 194. 2004) .

Several genera and many species are ornamentals . Some fruits of Vaccinium in N China are sweet and edible, but of no particular value to humans. Some species of Chamaedaphne, Craibiodendron, Leucothoë, Lyonia, Pieris, and Rhododendron contain more or less toxic diterpenes, which are harmful to humans or domestic animals.[1]

Genus Vaccinium

Shrubs or small trees , terrestrial or epiphytic. Leaves evergreen or deciduous, rarely pseudoverticillate , petiolate , margin entire or serrate. Inflorescences terminal or axillary , racemose, fasciculate, or solitary flowers. Bracts and bracteoles persistent or caducous , the latter small, basal, rarely apical; pedicel expanded towards apex or not, articulate , rarely continuous. Flowers 5-, rarely 4-merous. Calyx limb lobed or toothed . Corolla urceolate , campanulate , or tubular , lobed or toothed, usually to base of limb; lobes erect or recurved, mostly shorter than tube , rarely longer or petals apparently free . Stamens rarely 4, usually included ; anthers with 2 spurs at anther-filament junction or not; thecae with tubules opening by a terminal pore or introrse slit. Disk annular . Ovary inferior, usually 8- or 10-pseudoloculed by false partitions; locule with many ovules; stigma inconspicuous, truncate . Fruit a several seeded globose berry. Seeds ovoid , small, testa hard or mucilaginous .

About 450 species: throughout the N hemisphere, also in the mountains of tropical Asia and Central and South America, a few species in Africa and Madagascar; 92 species (51 endemic) in China.

The limits of Vaccinium are very uncertain. Recent molecular work, supported by morphology and anatomy , suggests that it is likely that the majority of Chinese species, i.e. , those with 10-pseudoloculed ovaries, form part of the same lineage as Agapetes.[2]

Physical Description

Species Vaccinium myrtillus

Shrubs deciduous, dwarf , 15-30(-60) cm tall, much branched, rhizomatous . Twigs acutely angled ; bud scales inconspicuous. Leaves scattered ; petiole ca. 1 mm; leaf blade ovate or elliptic , 1-3 × 0.6-1.6 cm, papery , secondary veins 6 or 7 pairs, fine veins raised abaxially, inconspicuous adaxially, base broadly cuneate to rounded , margin plane , serrulate , apex acute to obtuse . Flowers solitary, axillary , pendulous, 1-3 at base of shoot . Pedicel 2.5-3.5 mm; bracteoles absent. Flowers 4- or 5-merous. Hypanthium ca. 4 mm, scarcely lobed . Corolla pale green, tinged with pink, globose-urceolate, 4-6 mm; lobes reflexed . Filaments ca. 1.5 mm, glabrous ; anthers 2.2-2.5 mm, thecae with 2 subulate spurs, tubules shorter than thecae. Berry 4- or 5-loculed, bluish black, with a bloom , 6-10 mm in diam. Fl. Jun, fr. Sep. 2n = 24. [source]

Habit: Subshrub , Shrub

Flowers: Bloom Period: June, July, August. • Flower Color: chartreuse, yellow-green, pink

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 6-12" tall.

Habitat

Larix, Picea, Pinus, or mixed forests , on acidic and wet soils; 2200-2500 m [3].

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,839 meters (0 to 9,314 feet).[4]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Soil: Minimum pH: 5.6 • Maximum pH: 7.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 10-Apr-2007

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Vaccinium

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 171 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

V. ambivalens (Big-Scaled Black Smelt) · V. angustifolium (Lowbush Blueberry) · V. angustifolium f. leucoarpum (Upland Lowbush Blueberry) · V. angustifolium var. integrifolium (Upland Lowbush Blueberry) · V. arboreum (Farkleberry) · V. arctostaphylos (Caucasian Whortleberry) · V. ashei 'Aliceblue' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Austin' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Baldwin' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Beckyblue' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Bluebelle' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Bluegem' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Blueray' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Bonita' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Brightwell' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Briteblue' (Rabbitteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Centurion' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Chaucer' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Choice' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Climax' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Delight' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Ira' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Jubilee' (Jubilee Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Misty' (Misty Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Montgomery' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Ochlockonee' (Rabbiteye Blueberry 'ochlockonee') · V. ashei 'O'Neal' (O'neal Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Powderblue' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Premier' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Snowflake' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Sunshine Blue' (Sunshine Blue Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Tifblue' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Windy' (Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Woodard' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. ashei 'Yadkin' (Rabbiteye Blueberry) · V. atlanticum (Atlantic Huckleberry) · V. boreale (Northern Blueberry) · V. caesariense (New Jersey Blueberry) · V. caespitosum (Dwarf Bilberry) · V. caespitosum var. caespitosum (Dwarf Bilberry) · V. caespitosum var. paludicola (Dwarf Bilberry) · V. calycinum (Blueberry) · V. carolinianum (Carolina Huckleberry) · V. corymbosum (Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Aurora' (Blueberry 'aurora') · V. corymbosum 'Berkeley' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Bluecrop' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Bluegold' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Bluejay' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Blue Ray' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Brigitta' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Carteret' (Blueberry 'carteret') · V. corymbosum 'Chandler' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Chippewa' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Darrow' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Draper' (Blueberry 'draper') · V. corymbosum 'Duke' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Earliblue' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Elliot' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Herbert' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Hodnett' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Hortblue Petite' (Blueberry 'hortblue Petite') · V. corymbosum 'Ivanhoe' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Jersey' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Liberty' (High-Bush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Lucia' (Blueberry 'lucia') · V. corymbosum 'New Hanover' (Blueberry 'new Hanover') · V. corymbosum 'Northland' (Northland Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Olympia' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Patriot' (Northern Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Polaris' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Rubel' (Highbush Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Scintilla' (Blueberry 'scintilla') · V. corymbosum 'Sharpblue' (Sharpblue Blueberry) · V. corymbosum 'Snowchaser' (Blueberry 'snowchaser') · V. corymbosum 'Sunshine Blue' (Dwarf Blueberry) · V. crassifolium (Creeping Blueberry) · V. crassifolium subsp. sempervirens (Creeping Blueberry) · V. crassifolium 'Well's Delight' (Creeping Blueberry) · V. cylindraceum (Azores Blueberry) · V. darrowii (Darrow's Blueberry) · V. delavayi (Delaway Blueberry) · V. deliciosum (Cascade Bilberry) · V. dentatum ('ohelo) · V. dobbinii (Dobbin's Huckleberry) · V. elliottii (Elliott's Blueberry) · V. erythrocarpum (Southern Mountain Cranberry) · V. floribundum (Andean Blueberry) · V. floribundum var. ramosissimum (Colombian Blueberry) · V. formosum (Southern Blueberry) · V. fuscatum (Black Highbush Blueberry) · V. fuscatum var. angustifolium (Black Highbush Blueberry) · V. geminiflorum (Mexican Blueberry) · V. hirsutum (Hairy Blueberry) · V. ligustrinum (He-Huckleberry) · V. macrocarpon (American Cranberry) · V. macrocarpon 'Hamilton' (Dwarf Cranberry) · V. macrocarpon 'Stevens' (Cranberry) · V. margarettiae (Margarett's Huckleberry) · V. marianum (Vaccinium)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 11, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mingyuan Fang, Ruizheng Fang, Mingyou He, Linzheng Hu, Hanbi Yang, Haining Qin, Tianlu Min, David F. Chamberlain, Peter Stevens, Gary D. Wallace & Arne Anderberg "Ericaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 242. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Fang Rhui-cheng, Peter F. Stevens "Vaccinium". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 476. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Vaccinium myrtillus". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 503. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  4. Mean = 331.850 meters (1,088.747 feet), Standard Deviation = 385.910 based on 20,000 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012