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airelle gazonnante, dwarf bilberry, dwarf blueberry, dwarf huckleberry

Florida evergreen blueberry, shiny blueberry

Habit Plants forming dense colonies, 0.3–6 dm, superficially rhizomatous; twigs yellow-green, reddish green, or reddish brown, terete to somewhat angled, finely puberulent or, rarely, glabrous. Plants forming extensive open colonies, 1.4–10 dm; twigs bright green, ± angled, hairy in lines.
Leaves

blades green, usually oblanceolate, sometimes obovate or narrowly elliptic, 10–30 × 3–12 mm, margins usually serrulate from apex to at least mid blade, surfaces usually glandular abaxially, usually glabrous adaxially.

persistent for 1+ years;

blade green, elliptic, 5–9 × 3–5 mm, coriaceous, margins ± serrulate, surfaces glandular abaxially.

Flowers

calyx pale green, lobes vestigial, glabrous;

corolla white, white with pink striping, or pink, cylindric-urceolate to globose, 4–7 × 3–5 mm, thin, glaucous;

filaments glabrous.

calyx pinkish white, becoming greenish, glabrous;

corolla white to pink or red, ± urceolate, 4–8 mm;

filaments ciliate along margins.

Berries

usually blue, glaucous, rarely dull black, 5–9 mm diam.

black, 7–9 mm diam., glabrous.

Seeds

ca. 1 mm.

4–13, ca. 1 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 24, 48.

Vaccinium cespitosum

Vaccinium myrsinites

Phenology Flowering late spring-mid summer. Flowering winter–spring.
Habitat Open, usually dry habitats, from lowland to subalpine areas Flatwoods, sand-pine scrub, oak-palmetto scrub, scrubby flatwoods, rosemary balds
Elevation 0-4500 m (0-14800 ft) 0-30 m (0-100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NM; NY; OR; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Hidalgo); Central America (Guatemala)
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 524. FNA vol. 8, p. 527.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Cyanococcus
Sibling taxa
V. angustifolium, V. arboreum, V. boreale, V. corymbosum, V. crassifolium, V. darrowii, V. deliciosum, V. erythrocarpum, V. hirsutum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. tenellum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
V. angustifolium, V. arboreum, V. boreale, V. cespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. crassifolium, V. darrowii, V. deliciosum, V. erythrocarpum, V. hirsutum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. tenellum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
Synonyms V. arbuscula, V. caespitosum var. arbuscula, V. caespitosum var. paludicola, V. geminiflorum, V. nivictum, V. paludicola Cyanococcus myrsinites, V. nitidum
Name authority Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 234. 1803 , Lamarck: in J. Lamarck et al., Encycl. 1: 73. (1783)
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