ZipcodeZoo.com

Vaccinium virgatum

(Rabbit-Eye Blueberry, Smallflower Blueberry, Southern High Bush Blueberry)

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Unambiguous Synonyms:

  1. Cyanococcus amoenus (Ait.) Small
  2. Cyanococcus virgatus (Ait.) Small
  3. Vaccinium amoenum Ait.
  4. Vaccinium ashei Rehd.
  5. Vaccinium corymbosum var. amoenum (Ait.) Gray
  6. Vaccinium parviflorum Gray
  7. Vaccinium virgatum var. ozarkense Ashe
  8. Vaccinium virgatum var. speciosum Palmer

Notes:

Publishing author: Small Publication: Man. S.E. Fl. 1014 1933

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Place of publication: Hort. kew. 2:12. 1789

Name verified on 10-Jun-1992 by ARS Systematic Botanists. Last updated: 14-Jan-2006

Physical Description

[ Back to top ]

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.[1]

Habit: Shrub

Flowers: Bloom Period: January, February. • Flower Color: near white, white

Images:

Distribution

[ Back to top ]

Range and Population

North America

Native: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas.

Reproduction

[ Back to top ]

Duration: Perennial

Growth

[ Back to top ]

Culture: Space 8-10' apart.

Soil: Minimum pH: 4.5 • Maximum pH: 6.0

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b. (map)

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Vaccinium:

There are approximately 1,185 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: V. delavayi merrillianum · V. oxycoccos microphyllum · V. uliginosum gaultherioides · V. uliginosum imberbe · V. uliginosum occidentale · V. uliginosum pubescens · V. sphyrospermoides · V. 'Berkeley' · V. 'Bluejay' · V. 'Blueray' · V. 'Chippewa' · V. 'Cinderella' · V. 'Duke' · V. 'Earliblue' · V. 'Groover' · V. 'McMinn' · V. 'Misty' · V.'NC 2282' (Blueberry) · V. 'Nimo Pink' · V. 'Northblue' (Half-High Highbush Blueberry) · V. 'Northcountry' (Half-High Highbush Blueberry) · V. 'Northland' (Half-High Highbush Blueberry) · V. 'Northsky' (Half-High Highbush Blueberry) · V. 'Ozarkblue' · V. 'Patriot' · V. 'Spartan' · V. 'Sunrise' · V. 'Sunshine Blue' · V. 'Top Hat' (Dwarf Blueberry) · V. 'Tophat' · V. absconditum · V. acosta · V. acrobracteatum · V. acuminatissimum · V. acuminatum · V. acutissimum · V. adenandrum · V. adenanthum · V. adenochaetum · V. adenotrichum · V. adenurum · V. affine · V. africanum · V. agathosmoides · V. agusanense · V. aitapense · V. alainii · V. alaskaense · V. alaskaensis · V. alaskensis · V. alaternoides · V. alaternoides Kunth var. parvifolium Benth. · V. alaternoides var. parvifolium · V. alatum · V. albicans · V. albicans var. albicans · V. albidens · V. albiflorum · V. album · V. almedae · V. alnifolium · V. alpinum · V. altiterrae · V. alto-montanum · V. alvarezii · V. amamianum · V. ambiualens (Stout Blacksmelt) · V. ambivalens · V. amblyandrum · V. ambyandrum · V. amicorum · V. amoemum · V. amphoterum · V. amplexicaule · V. amplifolium · V. ampulaceum · V. ampullaceum · V. andersonii · V. andringitrense · V. anfractum · V. angiense · V. angulatum · V. angulosum · V. angustifolium (Lowbush Blueberry) · V. angustifolium 'Burgundy' · V. angustifolium 'Claret' · V. angustifolium 'Cumberland' · V. angustifolium 'Jonesboro' · V. angustifolium Aiton var. hypolasium Fernald · V. angustifolium Aiton var. laevifolium House · V. angustifolium f. chiococcum · V. angustifolium f. leucoarpum · V. angustifolium f. leucocarpum · V. angustifolium f. nigrum · V. angustifolium Newfoundland form · V. angustifolium var. glaucescens · V. angustifolium var. integrifolium · V. angustilimbum · V. anthonyi · V. antipodum

Bibliography

[ Back to top ]
  • Clark, R. C. 1971. The woody plants of Alabama. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 58:225. [= V. ashei J. M. Reade, V. amoenum Aiton].
  • Facciola, S. 1990. Cornucopia, a source book of edible plants. (Cornucopia) [= V. ashei J. M. Reade].
  • Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening. (Dict Gard)
  • IPGRI. New World Fruits Database - on-line resource. (New World Fruits)
  • Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. (L US Can ed2)
  • Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2. (Food Feed Crops US)
  • Uttal, L. J. 1987. Lectotypification of Cyanococcus cuthbertii Small (Ericaceae). Sida 12:293.
  • Uttal, L. J. 1987. The genus Vaccinium L. (Ericaceae) in Virginia. Castanea 52:231.
  • Vander Kloet, S. P. 1980. The taxonomy of the highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum. Canad. J. Bot. 58:1195. [= V. corymbosum L.].

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors:

  • Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
  • Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 19, 2007.
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 22, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
  • The International Plant Names Index. Accessed Jan 19, 2007.
  • USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL (April 27, 2008)

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 22, 2007:

Identifiers:

Footnotes:

  1. 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.

Keep Exploring...

[ Back to top ]
Loading...
Loading...

What is this? Click to find out...

Loading...
Loading...
Last Revised: May 12, 2008