Vaccinium crassifolium

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Vaccinium crassifolium
Vaccinium crassifolium.jpg
United States Botanic Garden's
National Garden, Washington
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Vaccinium
Species:
V. crassifolium
Binomial name
Vaccinium crassifolium
Synonyms [3]
  • Herpothamnus crassifolius(Andrews) Small
  • Vaccinium crassifolium subsp. sempervirens(D.A.Rayner & J. Henderson) W.B.Kirkman & Ballington
  • Vaccinium sempervirensD.A.Rayner & J.Henderson

Vaccinium crassifolium, or the creeping blueberry, is a species of Vaccinium in the heath family. It is native to a portion of the Southeastern United States.

Contents

Description

It is an evergreen shrub with shiny dark green to bronze leaves. Cytology is 2n = 24. [4]

Taxonomy

Vaccinium crassifolium is the only species in Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus. Some sources have recognized a second species, V. sempervirens, but recent authors combine the two into a single species. [3] [5]

Creeping blueberries, although they are native to North America, do not seem to be most closely related to North American blueberries, but instead to South American Vaccinium species. [5]

Distribution and habitat

Vaccinium crassifolium is native to the coastal plain of Georgia, the Carolinas, and southeastern Virginia, especially in pine barrens but also in disturbed settings like roadsides and other open areas. [3] [6] [7]

Uses

The leaves resemble bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), and may be used in herbalism in its place. [8]

Vaccinium crassifolium has been cultivated since at least about 1787, [5] and several cultivars are available for planting as a groundcover in landscaping gardens. [9]

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe (2 February 2024). "Vaccinium crassifolium". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 15. Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews, Flora of North America
  4. ↑ Redpath, Lauren E.; Aryal, Rishi; Lynch, Nathan; Spencer, Jessica A.; Hulse-Kemp, Amanda M.; Ballington, James R.; Green, Jaimie; Bassil, Nahla; Hummer, Kim; Ranney, Thomas; Ashrafi, Hamid (2022). "Nuclear DNA contents and ploidy levels of North American Vaccinium species and interspecific hybrids". Scientia Horticulturae. 297. Elsevier BV: 110955. doi: 10.1016/j.scienta.2022.110955 . ISSN   0304-4238.
  5. 1 2 3 Kirkman, W. B. & J. R. Ballington (Oct–Dec 1990), "Creeping blueberries (Ericaceae: Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus) - a new look at Vaccinium crassifolium including V. sempervirens", Systematic Botany, 15 (4): 679–699, doi:10.2307/2419164, JSTOR   2419164
  6. ↑ Creeping Blueberry, USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, consulted 2006-12-18). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
  7. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  8. ↑ 416. Vaccinium crassifolium, A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M., 1917.
  9. ↑ MacKenzie, David S. (2002). Perennial Ground Covers. p. 309. ISBN   0-88192-557-8.


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