North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Vaccinium corymbosum

Vaccinium corymbosum L.

highbush blueberry, smooth highbush blueberry

Synonym(s): Cyanococcus corymbosus, Cyanococcus cuthbertii
Cultivar(s): Southland

Vaccinium corymbosum (Highbush Blueberry)

Image ID: 5122
Image by: Hardin, J.W.
Image Collection: Herbarium Collection

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: VACO
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Vaccinium corymbosum
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2017-07-15

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1645	Southland	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: VACCI
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Vaccinium
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Blueberry
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 140 species, shrubs, lianes, and small trees, semicosmopolitan. Vaccinium in our area is divided into 6 strongly differentiated sections, sometimes, as by Small, treated as separate genera. The taxonomy of Vaccinium remains unclear � past divergence of opinion is obvious in the synonymy. For instance, Small (1933) recognizes 6 genera and 25 species for our area, Ahles in RAB (1968) recognizes 1 genus and 14 species (one with 2 varieties) (not including VA), and Vander Kloet (1988) recognizes 1 genus and 9 species. The highbush blueberries of section Cyanococcus are particularly difficult. Vander Kloets extremely broad concept of the highbush blueberries as consisting of a single species, V. corymbosum, including V. fuscatum (V. atrococcum � RAB), V. simulatum (V. constablaei � RAB), V. virgatum (V. amoenum � RAB), V. elliottii, V. formosum (V. australe), and V. caesariense (and many other named taxa not recognized here) has been adopted by some recent authors, at least partly for its ease of application. I agree with Godfrey (1988), though, that V. elliottii has such distinctiveness as to be recognizable in the field at a glance. The other taxa are less easily recognizable, but seem to have substantial morphological and phytogeographic integrity. The fairly frequent presence of hybrid individuals and populations can make identification frustrating, but I agree with Ward (1974) that the genus Vaccinium ... is difficult but not in any way an irresolvable tangle of intergrading populations. The vast bulk of individuals encountered in the field may be assigned, as with any non-apomict genus, to a relatively few, discrete, and wholly recognizable species. Many of the taxa included in V. corymbosum by Vander Kloet (1988) and Luteyn et al. (1996) occur together in combinations of two to four, are immediately recognizable in the field, bloom at different times, and have different flower, fruit, and leaf morphology. Failure to recognize multiple entities within the highbush blueberries results in the taxonomic homogenization of the diversity of the group and obscures important phytogeographic patterns. Our area, with 20 species (24 taxa) in 6 sections, has a greater diversity of Vaccinium than any other comparably sized area in North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Vander Kloet (1988)=Z; Uttal (1987)=Y; Camp (1945)=X; Ashe (1931)=V; Ward (1974)=Q; Luteyn et al. (1996)=L; Vander Kloet in FNA (2009); Vander Kloet & Hall (1981); Vander Kloet (1977, 1978a, 1978b, 1980, 1982, 1983a, 1983b); Uttal (1986a, 1986b); Smith et al. (2015)=D; Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004). Key based in part on Uttal (1987).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ERICAC
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Ericaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Heath Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 107-124 genera and 3400-4100 species, primarily shrubs, small trees, and subshrubs, nearly cosmopolitan. The Ericaceae is very important in our area, which is one of the north temperate centers of diversity for the Ericaceae, with a great diversity of genera and species, many of them rather narrowly endemic. Along with Quercus and Pinus, various members of this family are dominant in much of our landscape.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Tucker in FNA (2009); Gillespie & Kron (2010, 2013); Kron et al. (2002); Wood (1961); Judd & Kron (1993); Kron & Chase (1993); Luteyn et al. (1996)=L; Dorr & Barrie (1993); Cullings & Hileman (1997); Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 15 ft

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Shrub

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Deciduous

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
x		x

FRUITING PERIOD: Aug.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Highbush Blueberry commonly are grown for consumption and sale in grocery stores and farmers’ markets. However, most growers use cultivars that produce more and larger fruit. Cultivar breeding has resulted in a loss of flavor relative to the wild variety. Highbush Blueberry has a striking fall color, as it turns a variety of shades of reds and oranges. Though it is primarily found in constantly moist soils in the wild, it will do well in average soils if given some extra attention during stressful times. It’s a beautiful edible and native plant to add to your garden.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 3
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
218	HORT		NCBG staff	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
219	2011-0045	2011-03-10	218	View
2360	1986-2197			View
2547	1986-2437			View
2718	1987-0196			View
3437	1991-0075			View
4573	1992-0729			View
6363	1995-1495			View
6524	1996-0152			View
6564	1996-0194			View
7860	2001-0223	2007-07-20		View
9248	2019-0007	2019-06-26	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
446	219	14	Liloia	2011-03-10	View
447	219	34	Marchal	2011-05-11	View
448	219	34	Liloia	2011-10-27	View
449	219	12	Heiney	2011-12-06	View
4050	2360	94	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4305	2547	6	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
4528	2718	8	NCBG staff	1979-06-11	View
5677	3437	160	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
6902	4573	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
9018	6363	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
9227	6524	143	NCBG staff	1996-01-01	View
9271	6564	142	NCBG staff	1996-11-12	View
11084	7860	159	NCBG staff	2001-01-01	View
12371	9248	115	Wenck	2019-03-15	View
14034	0	31	Wait	1899-11-30	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: VACO
USDA Common Name: Highbush Blueberry
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV), CAN (BC, NB, NS, ON, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACW				FACW	FACW		FACW	FACW	FACW

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Vaccinium corymbosum
COMMON NAME: Smooth Highbush Blueberry
SYNONYMY: [= Il, K, Va, X, Y; < V. corymbosum - C (also see V. fuscatum and V. simulatum); > V. corymbosum var. albiflorum (Hooker) Fernald - F; > V. corymbosum var. corymbosum - F, WV; > V. corymbosum var. glabrum Gray - F, WV; < V. corymbosum - FNA, G, L, Pa, RAB, W, Z; < V. constablaei A. Gray - G, X; = Cyanococcus corymbosus (Linnaeus) Rydberg - S]
PHENOLOGY: May; Aug.
HABITAT: Bogs, wet swamp forests, moist high elevation bogs, balds, and forests.
COMMENTS: NS west to MI, south to WV, OH, and IN, south in the Appalachians (and rarely on Piedmont monadnocks) to w. NC, nw. SC, n. GA, and e. TN. In the southern states of our area, V. corymbosum (sensu stricto) appears to be limited to the Mountains, except for occurrences on Piedmont monadnocks and outlier ridges, such as Hanging Rock, Stokes County, NC, and the Brushy Mountains, NC. See the end of the genus treatment for discussion of taxonomic controversy involving this species and its allies. Note that this treatment recognizes 2 species (V. formosum and V. caesariense) included within V. corymbosum by RAB and some other authors. V. formosum is the common corymbosum type blueberry of the Coastal Plain. V. corymbosum is primarily tetraploid; V. constablaei A. Gray (misapplied to V. simulatum by RAB) is correctly applied to hexaploid plants of the high elevation Blue Ridge of NC and TN, especially on heath balds and grassy balds. Camp (1945) considered V. constablaei to be an allopolyploid derivative of V. simulatum and V. altomontanum (itself a tetraploid apparently related to diploid V. pallidum, and of uncertain derivation). The appropriate taxonomic treatment of these plants is unclear; they are apparently not reliably identifiable based on morphology.
RANGE MAP: Vaccinium corymbosum.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Ericaceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Heath Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 107-124 genera and 3400-4100 species, primarily shrubs, small trees, and subshrubs, nearly cosmopolitan. The Ericaceae is very important in our area, which is one of the north temperate centers of diversity for the Ericaceae, with a great diversity of genera and species, many of them rather narrowly endemic. Along with Quercus and Pinus, various members of this family are dominant in much of our landscape.
REFERENCE: Tucker in FNA (2009); Gillespie & Kron (2010, 2013); Kron et al. (2002); Wood (1961); Judd & Kron (1993); Kron & Chase (1993); Luteyn et al. (1996)=L; Dorr & Barrie (1993); Cullings & Hileman (1997); Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Vaccinium L. (Blueberry)
SUMMARY: A genus of 140 species, shrubs, lianes, and small trees, semicosmopolitan. Vaccinium in our area is divided into 6 strongly differentiated sections, sometimes, as by Small, treated as separate genera. The taxonomy of Vaccinium remains unclear � past divergence of opinion is obvious in the synonymy. For instance, Small (1933) recognizes 6 genera and 25 species for our area, Ahles in RAB (1968) recognizes 1 genus and 14 species (one with 2 varieties) (not including VA), and Vander Kloet (1988) recognizes 1 genus and 9 species. The highbush blueberries of section Cyanococcus are particularly difficult. Vander Kloets extremely broad concept of the highbush blueberries as consisting of a single species, V. corymbosum, including V. fuscatum (V. atrococcum � RAB), V. simulatum (V. constablaei � RAB), V. virgatum (V. amoenum � RAB), V. elliottii, V. formosum (V. australe), and V. caesariense (and many other named taxa not recognized here) has been adopted by some recent authors, at least partly for its ease of application. I agree with Godfrey (1988), though, that V. elliottii has such distinctiveness as to be recognizable in the field at a glance. The other taxa are less easily recognizable, but seem to have substantial morphological and phytogeographic integrity. The fairly frequent presence of hybrid individuals and populations can make identification frustrating, but I agree with Ward (1974) that the genus Vaccinium ... is difficult but not in any way an irresolvable tangle of intergrading populations. The vast bulk of individuals encountered in the field may be assigned, as with any non-apomict genus, to a relatively few, discrete, and wholly recognizable species. Many of the taxa included in V. corymbosum by Vander Kloet (1988) and Luteyn et al. (1996) occur together in combinations of two to four, are immediately recognizable in the field, bloom at different times, and have different flower, fruit, and leaf morphology. Failure to recognize multiple entities within the highbush blueberries results in the taxonomic homogenization of the diversity of the group and obscures important phytogeographic patterns. Our area, with 20 species (24 taxa) in 6 sections, has a greater diversity of Vaccinium than any other comparably sized area in North America.
REFERENCE: Vander Kloet (1988)=Z; Uttal (1987)=Y; Camp (1945)=X; Ashe (1931)=V; Ward (1974)=Q; Luteyn et al. (1996)=L; Vander Kloet in FNA (2009); Vander Kloet & Hall (1981); Vander Kloet (1977, 1978a, 1978b, 1980, 1982, 1983a, 1983b); Uttal (1986a, 1986b); Smith et al. (2015)=D; Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004). Key based in part on Uttal (1987).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Vaccinium corymbosum in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Vaccinium corymbosum in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Vaccinium corymbosum in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Vaccinium corymbosum in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Vaccinium corymbosum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Vaccinium corymbosum

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 5122 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 5122 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 7286 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 5118 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)