Vaccinium darrowii
Encyclopedia
Vaccinium darrowii, Darrow's Blueberry, Evergreen Blueberry, Scrub Blueberry, or Southern Highbush Blueberry, is a species of Vaccinium
in the blueberry
group (Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus).
United States
, in Alabama
, Florida
, Georgia
, Louisiana
, and Mississippi
. The primary habitat for the species is pine forests, where it prefers full sun and the slightly acidic soils common in such habitat.
shrub
growing 30–120 cm (0.984251968503937–3.9 ft) tall, with small, simple ovoid-acute leaves
10–15 mm long and in non hybrid forms are a light blue-green color on the base of the plant and a light pink color at the tips of the branches. The flower
s are white, bell-shaped, 4–8 mm long. The fruit
is a berry
4–6 mm diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom.
use as an ornamental plant
in garden
s and native plant
landscape
s.
Many commercial Southern Highbush Blueberry cultivar
s are hybrids, derived from crosses between Vaccinium darrowii with the Northern Highbush Blueberry
V. corymbosum, as well as other species such as V. virgatum
and V. angustifolium
. The following Southern Highbush Blueberry cultivars, listed by fruit ripening time, are recommended for the fruit garden and landscape:
Southern Highbush Cultivars, in addition to lower chilling requirements, also have greater tolerance to high summer temperatures, somewhat greater drought tolerance and develop superior fruit quality under Southern U.S.
growing conditions. As a rule, Southern highbush blueberries are self-fertile. However, larger and earlier-ripening berries result if several cultivars are interplanted for cross-pollination.
Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae. The fruit of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry or whortleberry, lingonberry or cowberry, and huckleberry...
in the blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
group (Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus).
Distribution
Vaccinium darrowii is native to the SoutheasternSoutheastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The primary habitat for the species is pine forests, where it prefers full sun and the slightly acidic soils common in such habitat.
Description
Vaccinium darrowii is an evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
growing 30–120 cm (0.984251968503937–3.9 ft) tall, with small, simple ovoid-acute leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
10–15 mm long and in non hybrid forms are a light blue-green color on the base of the plant and a light pink color at the tips of the branches. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are white, bell-shaped, 4–8 mm long. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
4–6 mm diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom.
Cultivation and uses
The species V. darrowii is grown both for its edible fruit, and horticultureHorticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
use as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
in garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s and native plant
Native plant
Native plant is a term to describe plants endemic or naturalized to a given area in geologic time.This includes plants that have developed, occur naturally, or existed for many years in an area...
landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
s.
Many commercial Southern Highbush Blueberry cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s are hybrids, derived from crosses between Vaccinium darrowii with the Northern Highbush Blueberry
Northern highbush blueberry
Northern highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, is a species of blueberry native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and Ontario south to Alabama, and west to Wisconsin...
V. corymbosum, as well as other species such as V. virgatum
Rabbiteye blueberry
Rabbiteye Blueberry is a species of blueberry native to the Southeastern United States, from North Carolina south to Florida and west to Texas...
and V. angustifolium
Lowbush blueberry
Vaccinium angustifolium, commonly known as the Lowbush Blueberry, is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as West Virginia and west to the Great Lakes region, Minnesota and Manitoba...
. The following Southern Highbush Blueberry cultivars, listed by fruit ripening time, are recommended for the fruit garden and landscape:
- Very early season: 'O’Neal'
- Early/midseason: 'Cape Fear'
- Midseason: 'Blue Ridge', 'Bluecrop', and 'Georgia Gem' (adapted to the Sandhills and Coastal Plains; needs frost protection in the Piedmont)
- Mid/late season: 'Legacy' and 'Summit'
- Late season: 'Ozarkblue' (Piedmont only).
Southern Highbush Cultivars, in addition to lower chilling requirements, also have greater tolerance to high summer temperatures, somewhat greater drought tolerance and develop superior fruit quality under Southern U.S.
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
growing conditions. As a rule, Southern highbush blueberries are self-fertile. However, larger and earlier-ripening berries result if several cultivars are interplanted for cross-pollination.