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Ericaceae
Vaccinium

not marked as a favorite taxon Vaccinium virgatum W. Aiton. Common name: Swamp Blueberry, Rabbiteye Blueberry. Phenology: Mar-Apr; May-Jun. Habitat: Pocosins and Chamaecyparis swamps, also in various drier habitats, including turkey oak sandhills. Distribution: A Southeastern Coastal Plain species, V. virgatum occurs from se. North Carolina south to Florida and west to e. Texas.

Glossary (beta!)

Section: Cyanococcus.

ID notes: Uttal (1989) commented: "In a notoriously difficult genus, Vaccinium virgatum is a snap to identify because its oval shiny leaves are serrate and bear on their undersurface blackish glands similar to those borne by its dwarf relative V. tenellum. Vaccinium virgatum is much grosser in dimensions than V. tenellum. Both are rhizomatous and often grow together, but are easily distinguished. The corollas of Vaccinium virgatum are narrowly cylindro-urceolate, up to 12 mm long, white, or often deep pink and showy. The fruit is shiny to dull black, rarely glaucous and are usually insipid, but in certain plants they are sweet. The latter are sometimes found on a glabrescent, firm-leaved phase found in the lower Savannah River basin."

Origin/Endemic status: Endemic

Taxonomy Comments: See Fritsch, Crowl, & Manos (2024) for a detailed discussion of this species. Vaccinium virgatum is a hexaploid species, 6x=72 (Redpath et al. 2022).

Synonymy ⓘ: = NS, POWO, S13, Camp (1945), Fritsch, Crowl, & Manos (2024); = Cyanococcus amoenus (Aiton) Small — S; = Vaccinium amoenum W. Aiton — RAB; > Vaccinium amoenum W. Aiton — Tx, Camp (1945); < Vaccinium corymbosum L. — FNA8, K4, WH3, Luteyn et al (1996), Vander Kloet (1988); < Vaccinium virgatum W. Aiton — Ar, GW2, K1, Redpath et al (2022); > Vaccinium virgatum W. Aiton — Tx. Basionym: Vaccinium virgatum W. Aiton 1789

Links to other floras: < Vaccinium corymbosum - FNA8

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Wetland Indicator Status:

  • Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACW (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
  • Great Plains: FACW (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
  • Midwest: FACW (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
  • Northcentral & Northeast: FACW (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)

Heliophily ⓘ: 7

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image #1 of Vaccinium virgatum© theo_witsell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by theo_witsell source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #2 of Vaccinium virgatum© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #3 of Vaccinium virgatum© Milo Pyne, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Milo Pyne source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #4 of Vaccinium virgatum© Alan Weakley source | Original Image ⭷
image #5 of Vaccinium virgatum© theo_witsell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by theo_witsell source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #6 of Vaccinium virgatum© theo_witsell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by theo_witsell source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
image #7 of Vaccinium virgatum© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #8 of Vaccinium virgatum© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
image #9 of Vaccinium virgatum© theo_witsell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by theo_witsell source CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷

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Horticultural Information

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native range: southeastern United States