lowbush blueberry (EwA Guide to the Plants of the Fells (US))

lowbush blueberry

Vaccinium angustifolium

Summary ⁷

Vaccinium angustifolium, commonly known as the wild lowbush blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada (from Manitoba to Newfoundland) and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as the Great Smoky Mountains and west to the Great Lakes region....

Comments ⁸

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is one of the primary sources of commercial blueberries, particularly in the New England region of the United States. The flavor of the berries is sweet and mild. Because this shrub is somewhat variable across its range, different varieties have been described, although none of these are currently recognized in Illinois. Compared to the Hillside Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum), Lowbush Blueberry has more narrow leaves and its leaf undersides are less pale. It differs from another species, Canada Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides), by having leaf undersides that are glabrous, rather than pubescent. These species usually occupy drier habitats than the taller Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum); the latter is typically found in forested bogs and similar wet habitats.