The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Part 107

6. V. vacillans, Solander. (LOW BLUEBERRY.) _Low_ (1--2 high), _glabrous_, with yellowish-green branchlets; _leaves obovate or oval, very pale or dull, glaucous_, at least underneath, minutely ciliolate-serrulate or entire; corolla between bell-shaped and cylindraceous, the mouth somewhat contracted.--Dry places, especially in sandy soil, New Eng. to Mich. and Iowa, south to N. C. and Mo.--Berries ripening later than those of n. 4.

7. V. corymbsum, L. (COMMON or SWAMP-BLUEBERRY.) _Tall_ (5--10 high); _leaves ovate, oval, oblong, or elliptical-lanceolate_; corolla varying from turgid-ovate and cylindrical-urn-shaped to oblong-cylindrical, 3--4" long.--Swamps and low thickets, throughout our range and southward. This yields the common _blueberry_ or _blue huckleberry_ of the latter part of the season. The typical form has leaves with naked entire margins, and may be p.u.b.escent or glabrous (var. GLaBRUM, _Gray_, Man.) Numerous gradations unite the following varieties:--

Var. am'num, Gray. Leaves bristly-ciliate, s.h.i.+ning above, green both sides, beneath somewhat p.u.b.escent on the veins.--Middle Atlantic States.

Var. pallidum, Gray. Leaves mostly glabrous, pale or whitish, glaucous especially underneath, serrulate with bristly teeth.--Common in the Alleghanies southward, mostly on the higher ridges.

Var. atrococc.u.m, Gray. The most distinct form; leaves entire, downy or woolly underneath even when old, as also the branchlets; berries smaller, black, without bloom.--New Eng. to Penn.

-- 3. VACCINIUM proper. (BILBERRIES.) _Corolla ovate to globular, 4--5-toothed; filaments glabrous; anthers 2-awned on the back, included; berry 4--5-celled; leaves deciduous; flowers on drooping pedicels, solitary or few together, appearing with or after the leaves; mostly glabrous._

[*] _Parts of the flower mostly in fours; stamens 8._

8. V. uliginsum, L. (BOG BILBERRY.) Low and spreading (4'--2 high), tufted; leaves entire, dull, obovate or oblong, pale and slightly p.u.b.escent underneath; flowers single or 2--3 together from a scaly bud, almost sessile; corolla short, urn-shaped; berries black with a bloom, sweet.--Alpine tops of the high mountains of N. Eng. and N. Y., sh.o.r.e of L. Superior, and northwestward. (Eu.)

[*][*] _Parts of the flower in fives; stamens 10; leaves membranaceous; flowers solitary on short axillary peduncles, nodding._

9. V. caespitsum, Michx. Dwarf (3--6' high), tufted, _leaves obovate_, narrowed at the base, smooth and _s.h.i.+ning, serrate; corolla oblong_, slightly urn-shaped; berries blue.--Alpine region of the White Mts., and high northward.--Var. CUNEIFLIUM, Nutt., is a foot high or less, bushy, with cuneate-spatulate leaves rounded at the apex, pa.s.sing in one form to spatulate-lanceolate and acute.--Sh.o.r.es of L. Superior and westward.

10. V. myrtillodes, Hook. More erect, 1--5 high; branchlets somewhat angled; _leaves mostly ovate and acute or pointed_, sharply and closely _serrulate, bright green_, nearly smooth; border of the calyx almost entire; _corolla depressed-globular_, rather large; berries large, black, rather acid.--Damp woods, sh.o.r.es of L. Superior, and northwestward. May, June.--Pedicels 3--6" long, drooping in flower, erect in fruit.

11. V. ovaliflium, Smith. Straggling, 2--12 high; _leaves elliptical, obtuse, nearly entire, pale_, mostly glaucous beneath, smooth; _corolla ovoid_; berries blue.--Peat-bogs, sh.o.r.es of L. Superior, and northwestward. May.

-- 4. VTIS-IDae'A. _Corolla, berry, etc., as in -- 3; filaments hairy; anthers awnless; leaves coriaceous and persistent; flowers in cl.u.s.ters from separate buds, 4-merous (in our species); mostly glabrous; leaves 3--6" long._

12. V. Vtis-Idae'a, L. (COWBERRY. MOUNTAIN CRANBERRY. FOXBERRY.) Low (6--10' high); branches erect from tufted creeping stems; leaves obovate with revolute margins, dark green, smooth and s.h.i.+ning above, dotted with blackish bristly points underneath; corolla bell-shaped, 4-cleft; berries dark red, acid and rather bitter, edible when cooked. Coast and mountains of N. Eng. to N. sh.o.r.e of L. Superior, and far northward.

June. (Eu.)

-- 5. OXYCoCCUS. _Corolla deeply 4-parted or -cleft, with linear reflexed lobes; anthers exserted, awnless, with very long terminal tubes; berry 4-celled; flowers axillary or terminal, nodding on long filiform pedicels._

[*] _Stem upright and leaves deciduous, as in common Blueberries; flowers axillary and solitary; corolla deeply 4-cleft; berries light red, turning purple, insipid._

13. V. erythrocarpon, Michx. Smooth, divergently branched (1--4 high); leaves oblong-lanceolate, taper-pointed, bristly serrate, thin.--Damp woods, higher Alleghanies, Va. to Ga. July.

[*][*] _Stems very slender, creeping or trailing; leaves small, entire, whitened beneath, evergreen; pedicels erect, the pale rose-colored flower nodding; corolla 4-parted; berries red, acid._--CRANBERRIES.

14. V. Oxycoccus, L. (SMALL CRANBERRY.) Stems very slender (4--9' long); _leaves ovate, acute, with strongly revolute margins_ (2--3" long); pedicels 1--4, terminal; filaments fully as long as the anthers.--Peat-bogs, N. Eng. and Penn. to Minn., and northward.

June.--Berry 3--4" broad, often speckled with white when young, seldom gathered for market. (Eu., Asia.)

15. V. macrocarpon, Ait. (LARGE or AMERICAN CRANBERRY.) Stems elongated (1--4 long), the flowering branches ascending; _leaves oblong, obtuse_, less revolute (4--6" long); pedicels several, becoming lateral, filaments scarcely one third the length of the anthers.--Peat-bogs, N. C. to Minn. and everywhere northward, but scarcely westward.

June.--Berry --1' long.

3. CHIoGENES, Salisb. CREEPING s...o...b..RRY.

Calyx-tube adherent to the ovary; limb 4-parted, persistent. Corolla bell-shaped, deeply 4-cleft. Stamens 8, included, inserted on an 8-toothed disk, filaments very short and broad; anther-cells ovate-oblong, separate, not awned on the back, but each minutely 2-pointed at the apex, and opening by a large c.h.i.n.k down to the middle.

Berry white, globular, rather dry, 4-celled, many-seeded.--A trailing and creeping evergreen, with very slender and scarcely woody stems, and small Thyme-like, ovate and pointed leaves on short petioles, with revolute margins, smooth above, the lower surface and the branches beset with rigid rusty bristles. Flowers very small, solitary in the axils, on short nodding peduncles, with 2 large bractlets under the calyx. (Name from ????, _snow_, and ?????, _offspring_, in allusion to the snow-white berries.)

1. C. serpylliflia, Salisb. Leaves 3--4" long; berries 3" broad, bright white. (C. hispidula, _Torr. & Gray_.)--Peat-bogs, and mossy woods, N. J. and Penn. to Minn., and northward; also southward in the Alleghanies to N. C. May.--Plant with the aromatic flavor of Gaultheria or Sweet Birch.

4. ARCTOSTaPHYLOS, Adans. BEARBERRY.

Corolla ovate and urn-shaped, with a short revolute 5-toothed limb.

Stamens 10, included; anthers with 2 reflexed awns on the back near the apex, opening by terminal pores. Drupe berry-like, with 5--10 seed-like nutlets.--Shrubs, with alternate leaves, and scaly-bracted nearly white flowers in terminal racemes or cl.u.s.ters. Fruit austere. (Name composed of ???t??, _a bear_, and staf???, _a grape_ or _berry_, the Greek of the popular name.)

1. A. uva-ursi, Spreng. (BEARBERRY.) Trailing; _leaves thick and evergreen_, obovate or spatulate, _entire, smooth; fruit red_.--Rocks and bare hills, N. J. and Penn. to Mo., and far north and westward. May.

(Eu., Asia.)

2. A. alpna, Spreng. (ALPINE BEARBERRY.) Dwarf, tufted and depressed; _leaves deciduous, serrate, wrinkled_ with strong netted veins, obovate; _fruit black_.--Alpine summits in N. Eng., and high northward.

(Arctic-alpine around the world.)

5. EPIGae'A, L. GROUND LAUREL. TRAILING ARBUTUS.

Corolla salver-form; the tube hairy inside, as long as the ovate-lanceolate pointed and scale-like nearly distinct sepals. Stamens 10, with slender filaments; anthers oblong, awnless, opening lengthwise.

Style slender, its apex (as in Pyrola) forming a sort of ring or collar around and partly adnate to the 5 little lobes of the stigma. Capsule depressed-globular, 5-lobed, 5-celled, many-seeded.--A prostrate or trailing scarcely shrubby plant, bristly with rusty hairs, with evergreen and reticulated rounded and heart-shaped alternate leaves, on slender petioles, and with rose-colored flowers in small axillary cl.u.s.ters, from scaly bracts. (Name composed of ?p?, _upon_, and ??, _the earth_, from the trailing growth.)

1. E. repens, L.--Sandy woods, or in rocky soil, especially in the shade of pines, Newf. to Minn., south to Fla., and Ky.--Flowers appearing in early spring, exhaling a rich spicy fragrance, dimorphous as to style and stamens and subdicious. In New England called MAYFLOWER.

6. GAULTHeRIA, Kalm. AROMATIC WINTERGREEN.

Corolla cylindrical-ovoid or a little urn-shaped, 5-toothed. Stamens 10, included; anther-cells each 2-awned at the summit, opening by a terminal pore. Capsule depressed, 5-lobed, 5-celled, 5-valved, many-seeded, enclosed when ripe by the calyx, which thickens and turns fleshy, so as to appear as a globular red berry!--Shrubs, or almost herbaceous plants, with alternate evergreen leaves and axillary (nearly white) flowers; pedicels with 2 bractlets. (Dedicated by Kalm to "_Dr. Gaulthier_," of Quebec.)

1. G. proc.u.mbens, L. (CREEPING WINTERGREEN.) Stems slender and extensively creeping on or below the surface; the flowering branches ascending, leafy at the summit (3--5' high); leaves obovate or oval, obscurely serrate; flowers few, mostly single in the axils, nodding.--Cool damp woods, mostly in the shade of evergreens, Maine to Minn., and southward to N. Ga.; also far northward. July.--The bright red berries (formed of the calyx) and the foliage have the well-known spicy-aromatic flavor of the Sweet Birch. Usually called _Wintergreen_, or sometimes in the interior _Tea-berry_. Eastward it is often called _Checkerberry_ or _Partridge-berry_ (names also applied to Mitch.e.l.la, the latter especially so), also _Boxberry_.

7. ANDRoMEDA, L.

Calyx without bractlets, of 5 nearly or partly distinct sepals, valvate in the bud, but very soon separate or open. Corolla urceolate (in ours), 5-toothed. Stamens 10; anthers fixed near the middle, the cells opening by a terminal pore. Capsule globular, 5-celled, 5-valved; the many-seeded placentae borne on the summit or middle of the columella.

Seeds pendulous or spreading.--Shrubs, with umbelled, cl.u.s.tered, or panicled and racemed (mostly white) flowers. (Fancifully named by Linnaeus in allusion to the fable of _Andromeda_.)

[*] _Anthers awned; capsule more or less globose; leaves thick and evergreen._

1. A. poliflia, L. _Glabrous_, 6--18' high; leaves linear to lanceolate-oblong, strongly revolute, _white beneath_; flowers in terminal umbels; pedicels from axils of persistent scaly bracts; _each anther-cell with a slender terminal ascending awn_.--Wet bogs, N. J. and Penn. to Minn., and northward.

2. A. floribunda, Pursh. Very leafy, 2--6 high; _young branchlets, etc., strigose-hairy_; leaves lanceolate-oblong, acute or ac.u.minate, ciliate-serrulate, _glandular-dotted beneath_ (2' long); _racemes crowded in short terminal panicles_, densely flowered; _each anther-cell with a slender deflexed awn on the back_.--Moist hillsides, in the Alleghanies from Va. to Ga.

[*][*] _Anthers awnless; capsule 5-angled, with a thickened ridge at the dorsal sutures; leaves thinnish and deciduous._

3. A. Mariana, L. (STAGGER-BUSH.) _Mostly glabrous_, 2--4 high; leaves oblong or oval (1--3' long); _fascicles of nodding flowers racemose on naked shoots; filaments 2-toothed near the apex; capsule ovate-pyramidal, truncate at the contracted apex_.--Low grounds, R. I.

to Fla.; also in Tenn. and Ark. Foliage said to poison lambs and calves.

4. A. ligustrna, Muhl. _Minutely p.u.b.escent_, 3--10 high; leaves obovate to lanceolate-oblong (1--2' long), serrulate or entire; _racemes crowded in naked or leafy panicles; filaments flat, not appendaged; capsule globular_.--Wet grounds, Canada to Fla. and Ark.--Var.

p.u.b.eSCENS, Gray, is a form with dense soft p.u.b.escence.--Va. to Ga.

8. OXYDeNDRUM, DC. SORREL-TREE. SOUR-WOOD.