Vaccinium arboreum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Ericaceae
Subfamilia: Vaccinioideae
Tribus: Vaccinieae
Genus: Vaccinium
Section: V. sect. Batodendron
Species: Vaccinium arboreum
Name

Vaccinium arboreum Marshall, 1785
Synonyms

Batodendron andrachniforme Small
Batodendron arboreum (Marsh.) Nutt.
Batodendron glaucescens Greene
Vaccinium arboreum var. glaucescens (Greene) Sarg.
Vaccinium diffusum Ait.

Homonyms

Vaccinium arboreum Lesch. ex Dun. = Vaccinium leschenaultii Wight

Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Vaccinium arboreum

Continental: Northern America
Regional: Southeastern USA
USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Marshall, H. 1785. Arbustrum Americanum: The American grove, or, An alphabetical catalogue of forest trees and shrubs, natives of the American United States, arranged according to the Linnaean system 174 pp. Philadelphia. BHL Reference page. : 157.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Vaccinium arboreum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 28. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Vaccinium arboreum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 28. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Vaccinium arboreum. Published online. Accessed: May 28 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Vaccinium arboreum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 28.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Vaccinium arboreum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 2020 May 28.

Vernacular names
English: Sparkleberry, Farkleberry

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 Illinois.[4][5]

Description

Vaccinium arboreum is a shrub (rarely a small tree) growing to 3–5 m (7.5-12.5 feet) rarely 9 m) (22.5 feet) tall, with a diameter at breast height of up to 35 cm (14 inches). The leaves are evergreen in the south of the range, but deciduous further north where winters are colder; they are oval-elliptic with an acute apex, 3–7 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with a smooth or very finely toothed margin. Sparkleberry grows on sand dunes, hammocks, dry hillsides, meadows, and in rocky woods. It also grows on a variety of moist sites such as wet bottomlands and along creek banks.[6]

The flowers are white, bell-shaped, and 3–4 mm (0.12-0.16 inches) in diameter with a five-lobed corolla, produced in racemes up to 5 cm (2 inches) long. The fruit is a round dry berry about 6 mm (0.24 inches) in diameter, green at first, black when ripe, edible but bitter and tough.[6] They are eaten by various wildlife.[7]

Flowers
Leaves
Branch
References

IUCN SSC Global Tree Specialist Group.; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; et al. (BGCI) (2020). "Vaccinium arboreum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T152906341A152906343. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T152906341A152906343.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
The Plant List, Vaccinium arboreum var. glaucescens (Greene) Sarg.
Tropicos, Vaccinium arboreum Marshall
USDA; Native Distribution - V. arboreum . accessed 11.10.2010
Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Flora of North America, Vaccinium arboreum Marshall, 1785. Farkleberry
Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 629. ISBN 0-394-50760-6.