Vaccinium corymbosum

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
Sectio: V. sect. Cyanococcus
Species: Vaccinium corymbosum
Name

Vaccinium corymbosum L.
Synonyms

Cyanococcus corymbosus (L.) Rydb.
Cyanococcus cuthbertii Small
Vaccinium constablaei Gray
Vaccinium corymbosum var. albiflorum (Hook.) Fernald
Vaccinium corymbosum var. glabrum A.Gray
Vaccinium marianum P.Watson

Homonyms

Vaccinium corymbosum Frank ex Dun. = Gaylussacia frondosa (L.) Torr. & Gray ex Torr.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
USA (Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington State, Wisconsin, West Virginia), Canada (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec)

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

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species plantarum, exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas. Tomus I. Pp. [I–XII], 1–560. Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae [Stockholm]. BHL Reference page. : 350.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Vaccinium corymbosum. 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 corymbosum 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 corymbosum. Published online. Accessed: May 28 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Vaccinium corymbosum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 28.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Vaccinium corymbosum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Vernacular names
català: Nabiu blau
čeština: Brusnice chocholičnatá
dansk: Storfrugtet Blåbær
Deutsch: Amerikanische Heidelbeere
English: Northern highbush blueberry
español: arándano azul
suomi: Pensasmustikka
français: Myrtille arbustive, Grande Myrtille, Myrtille américaine
galego: Arandeira americana
日本語: 北部ハイブッシュ系
lietuvių: Aukštoji šilauogė
latviešu: Augstās krūmmellenes
Nedersaksies: Blauwe beze
Nederlands: Blauwe bes
polski: Borówka wysoka
русский: Голубика высокорослая
српски / srpski: Sjeverna visokožbunasta borovnica
svenska: Amerikanskt blåbär

Vaccinium corymbosum, the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south as far as Florida and eastern Texas. It is also naturalized in other places: Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the Pacific Northwest of North America, etc.[2][3][4][5] Other common names include blue huckleberry, tall huckleberry, swamp huckleberry, high blueberry, and swamp blueberry.[6]

Description

Vaccinium corymbosum is a deciduous shrub growing to 6–12 feet (1.8–3.7 m) tall and wide. It is often found in dense thickets. The dark glossy green leaves are elliptical and up to 2 inches (5 cm) long. In autumn, the leaves turn to a brilliant red, orange, yellow, and/or purple.[4][7]

The flowers are long bell- or urn-shaped white to very light pink, 1⁄3 of an inch (8.5 mm) long.[4][7]

The fruit is a 1⁄4-to-1⁄2-inch (6.4 to 12.7 mm) diameter blue-black berry.[4] This plant is found in wooded or open areas with moist acidic soils.[7][8]

The species is tetraploid and does not self-pollinate.[9] Most cultivars have a chilling requirement greater than 800 hours.
History
Further information: Blueberry § Origins

Many wild species of Vaccinium are thought to have been cultivated by Native Americans for thousands of years, with intentional crop burnings in northeastern areas being apparent from archeological evidence.[9] V. corymbosum, being one of the species likely used by these peoples, was later studied and domesticated in 1908 by Frederick Vernon Coville.
Uses

In natural habitats, the berries are a food source for native and migrating birds, bears, and small mammals. The foliage is browsed by deer and rabbits.[10]

The berries were collected and used in Native American cuisine in areas where Vaccinium corymbosum grew as a native plant.[11]
Cultivation

Vaccinium corymbosum is the most common commercially grown blueberry in present-day North America.

It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant for home and wildlife gardens and natural landscaping projects.[8][12] The pH must be very acidic (4.5 to 5.5).[4]
Cultivars

Some common cultivar varieties are listed here, grouped by approximate start of the harvest season:[13]

Early

Duke
Patriot
Reka
Spartan

Mid-Season

Bluecrop
Blu-ray
KaBluey
Northland

Late

Aurora
Darrow
Elliott
Jersey
Chandler

The cultivars Duke[14] and Spartan[15] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Southern highbush blueberry

Some named Southern highbush blueberry are hybridized forms derived from crosses between V. corymbosum and Vaccinium darrowii, a native of the Southeastern U.S. These hybrids and other cultivars of V. darrowii (Southern highbush blueberry) have been developed for cultivation in warm southern and western regions of North America.[16][17]

References

The Plant List, Vaccinium corymbosum L.
Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Taxonomic account from Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) — for Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Vaccinium corymbosum. accessed 3.23.2013
"Vaccinium corymbosum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2017-12-15.
Gough, Robert Edward (1994). The highbush blueberry and its management. Psychology Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-56022-021-3. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
Flora of North America, Vaccinium corymbosum Linnaeus, 1753. High-bush blueberry, bleuet en corymbe
Missouri Botanical Garden: Kemper Center for Home Gardening — Vaccinium corymbosum . accessed 3.23.2013
Retamales, Jorge B.; Hancock, James F. (2012). Blueberries: Volume 21 of Crop production science in horticulture (1st ed.). Cambridge, MA: Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). pp. 2 & 39–42. ISBN 9781845938260.
Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985) [1979]. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 509. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
University of Michigan at Dearborn — Native American Ethnobotany of Vaccinium corymbosum Archived 2013-05-29 at the Wayback Machine . accessed 9.9.2015
Hort.uconn.edu: Vaccinium corymbosum; Landscape use section Archived 2013-03-27 at the Wayback Machine . accessed 3.23.2013
Hort.uconn.edu: Vaccinium corymbosum; Cultivars/varieties section Archived 2013-03-27 at the Wayback Machine . accessed 3.23.2013
"RHS Plant Selector - Vaccinium corymbosum 'Duke'". Retrieved 5 March 2021.
"RHS Plant Selector - Vaccinium corymbosum 'Spartan'". Retrieved 5 March 2021.
eXtension: Southern Highbush Blueberry Varieties[permanent dead link]
Four Winds Growers: Care of southern highbush blueberries