Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton

Lowbush blueberry, blueberry

About plant names...

Blueberries grow practically everywhere in Maine, where I grew up. They like acid, sandy soils. While vacationing at our camp on Sebago Lake each summer, we collected blueberries at Bradbury Mountain and other locations. Some of them even made it back down the mountain. Blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins: delightful!

Identification: Wild blueberries are much smaller than their cultivated cousins, about ⅛-¼" (3.2-6.3 mm) inch in diameter. They are also more flavorful, not just more intense but somehow sweeter. Plants are rarely over a foot or so in height, though they can reach up to 30" (76 cm) if sheltered. Leaves are a glossy dark green color in the summer. In the fall, they turn reddish-purple. Flowers are small and white, shaped like tiny bells. Fruits are dark blue.

This Vaccinium comparision chart also includes a couple of similar-appearing species that are not Vaccinium.

Edibility: Scrumptious.

Online References:

Vaccinium angustifolium on Earl J.S. Rook's Flora, Fauna, Earth, and Sky ... The Natural History of the Northwoods

Vaccinium angustifolium on Wikipedia

Vaccinium angustifolium on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Vaccinium angustifolium at Illinois Wildflowers

Vaccinium angustifolium at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Vaccinium angustifolium on the Vital Signs Gulf of Maine Research Institute

Vaccinium angustifolium on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Vaccinium angustifolium on eFloras

5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

7/2/2015 · Bemis Rd., Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 9.9 cm)

5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

9/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 6" (17 × 14 cm)

Vaccinium angustifolium description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 17 Aug 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

5/15/2015 · Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 7" (18 × 16 cm)

5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 13 cm)

5/15/2015 · Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (15 × 12 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 3½" (10 × 9.2 cm)

5/14/2015 · Silver Lake, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.5 × 8.7 cm)

5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

7/22/1987 · Camp, Sebago Lake, Maine

5/14/2015 · Silver Lake, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

Range: Zones 2-6:

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