FAMILY: ERICACEAE
ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: summer blueberry
LEAVES: deciduous, alternate, simple; elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate, 0.75- 1.5“ long; margins finely serrate
FLOWER: scorolla white, urn-shaped, appearing in early spring, in clusters of 2-6 from buds on previous season’s wood
FRUIT: blue berry, not glaucous, 0.2-0.4” broad, bearing remnant calyx teeth at the tip (ovary inferior), maturing in late spring; edible
TWIGS: younger twigs green
BARK: bark of older plants thin, reddish brown, with narrow shreddy ridges
FORM: multi-stemmed shrub to ca. 10’ tall
HABITAT: mesic forests along small streams and on slopes, hummocks in baygalls
WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Upland (FACW): Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
RANGE: southeastern US [US County Range Map]
USES: ornamental; fruits edible
WILDLIFE: provides nectar for bees and hummingbirds when floral resources are scarce, berries eaten by many mammals and birds, low to moderate deer browse, utilized mainly in fall and winter
Best Recognition Features:
- shrub of mesic forests, younger twigs green, leaves alternate
- small elliptic leaves that are finely serrate
- small delicious blueberries in late spring
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