FNA: Vaccinium pallidum vs. Vaccinium tenellum

	Vaccinium pallidum	Vaccinium tenellum
	Blue Ridge blueberry, Blue Ridge or late low-bush blueberry, hillside blueberry, lowbush blueberry	small black blueberry, southern blueberry
Habit	Shrubs, erect, (3–)4–12(–40) dm, rhizomatous, (twigs of previous year not verrucose).	Plants forming extensive, open colonies, 1–7.5 dm; twigs yellowish green, ± terete, hairy.
Leaves	persistent.	deciduous, rarely persistent; blade green, spatulate to elliptic, 13–40 × 3–17 mm, subcoriaceous, margins sharply to obscurely serrate, surfaces glandular abaxially, hairy especially when young, rarely glabrous.
Inflorescences	terminal, racemes, on lateral twigs, on previous year’s shoots or older woody stems.
Pedicels	articulated with calyx tube.
Flowers	sepals 5; petals 4–5, connate for nearly their entire lengths, corolla cylindric or urceolate; stamens 10, included; anthers ± without awns, tubules 1–1.5 mm, with terminal pores.	calyx pale green, sometimes hairy; corolla usually white tinged with pink, cylindric, 5–9 mm; filaments ± hairy.
Berries	[4-], 5-, [pseudo 8-, or pseudo 10]-locular.	black, 6–8 mm diam., sometimes puberulent.
Seeds	10–25, (ca. 1 mm).	5–25, ca. 1 mm.
2n		= 24.

	Vaccinium pallidum	Vaccinium tenellum
Phenology	Flowering mid-late spring.	Flowering winter–spring.
Habitat	Dry, open oak or oak- hickory woods, open pine woods, ledges, abandoned farmland or cut-over deciduous forests	Dry sand hills, pine barrens, scrubby oak woods, open pine parkland, and flatwoods subject to burning
Elevation	0-1600 m (0-5200 ft)	0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution	AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; VA [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	The flowers of Vaccinium pallidum are visited primarily by Andrena carlini Cockerell and Bombus spp. This species occasionally hybridizes with V. angustifolium, yielding V. ×dobbinii Burnham. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 8, p. 529.	FNA vol. 8, p. 528.
Parent taxa	Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Cyanococcus	Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Cyanococcus
Sibling taxa	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. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, 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. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
Synonyms	Cyanococcus liparis, Cyanococcus margarettae, Cyanococcus pallidus, Cyanococcus subcordatus, Cyanococcus tallapusae, Cyanococcus vacillans, V. altomontanum, V. corymbosum var. pallidum, V. margarettae, V. vacillans, V. vacillans var. crinitum, V. vacillans var. missouriense, V. viride	Cyanococcus tenellus
Name authority	Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 10. 1789 ,	Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 12. 1789 ,
Web links	Local Web sites: Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MO Plants WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Vaccinium tenellum

Blue Ridge blueberry, Blue Ridge or late low-bush blueberry, hillside blueberry, lowbush blueberry

small black blueberry, southern blueberry

Habit

Shrubs, erect, (3–)4–12(–40) dm, rhizomatous, (twigs of previous year not verrucose).

Plants forming extensive, open colonies, 1–7.5 dm; twigs yellowish green, ± terete, hairy.

Leaves

persistent.

deciduous, rarely persistent;

blade green, spatulate to elliptic, 13–40 × 3–17 mm, subcoriaceous, margins sharply to obscurely serrate, surfaces glandular abaxially, hairy especially when young, rarely glabrous.

Inflorescences

terminal, racemes, on lateral twigs, on previous year’s shoots or older woody stems.

Pedicels

articulated with calyx tube.

Flowers

sepals 5;

petals 4–5, connate for nearly their entire lengths, corolla cylindric or urceolate;

stamens 10, included;

anthers ± without awns, tubules 1–1.5 mm, with terminal pores.

calyx pale green, sometimes hairy;

corolla usually white tinged with pink, cylindric, 5–9 mm;

filaments ± hairy.

Berries

[4-], 5-, [pseudo 8-, or pseudo 10]-locular.

black, 6–8 mm diam., sometimes puberulent.

Seeds

10–25, (ca. 1 mm).

5–25, ca. 1 mm.

= 24.

Vaccinium tenellum

Phenology

Flowering mid-late spring.

Flowering winter–spring.

Habitat

Dry, open oak or oak- hickory woods, open pine woods, ledges, abandoned farmland or cut-over deciduous forests

Dry sand hills, pine barrens, scrubby oak woods, open pine parkland, and flatwoods subject to burning

Elevation

0-1600 m (0-5200 ft)

0-200 m (0-700 ft)

Distribution

AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; VA

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

The flowers of Vaccinium pallidum are visited primarily by Andrena carlini Cockerell and Bombus spp. This species occasionally hybridizes with V. angustifolium, yielding V. ×dobbinii Burnham.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source

FNA vol. 8, p. 529.

FNA vol. 8, p. 528.

Parent taxa

Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Cyanococcus

Sibling taxa

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. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, 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. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea

Synonyms

Cyanococcus liparis, Cyanococcus margarettae, Cyanococcus pallidus, Cyanococcus subcordatus, Cyanococcus tallapusae, Cyanococcus vacillans, V. altomontanum, V. corymbosum var. pallidum, V. margarettae, V. vacillans, V. vacillans var. crinitum, V. vacillans var. missouriense, V. viride

Cyanococcus tenellus

Name authority

Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 10. 1789 ,

Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 12. 1789 ,

Web links

Local Web sites: Go Botany, IL Wildflowers, KS Wildflowers, MD Biodiversity, MI Flora, MO Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database
LBJ Wildflower Center
SEINet
Plants of the World Online
Encyclopedia of Life
Wikipedia
Google Image Search

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

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Vaccinium pallidum

Vaccinium tenellum

Vaccinium pallidum

Vaccinium tenellum