Vaccinium sempervirens Rayner & Henderson. Common name: Rayner's Blueberry. Phenology: Apr-May. Habitat: Seepage bogs in the fall-line Sandhills, longleaf pine woodlands over sandstone and gravel outcrops. Distribution: Endemic to Lexington County, SC, known from only a few sites
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Taxonomy Comments: This species is clearly closely allied to V. crassifolium. Kirkman & Ballington (1990) reduce it to a subspecies. Because it is allopatric and relatively discrete morphologically, despite occurring in similar habitats, I prefer to retain it as a species. See Kirkman, Wentworth, & Ballington (1989) and Kirkman & Ballington (1990) for further discussion of the systematics and ecology of this species and V. crassifolium. Vaccinium sempervirens is a diploid species, 2x=24 (Redpath et al. 2022).
Synonymy ⓘ: = Rayner & Henderson (1980); = n/a — RAB; = Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews ssp. sempervirens (Rayner & Hend.) W.B.Kirkman & Ballingt. — K4; < Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews — FNA8, Luteyn et al (1996), Redpath et al (2022), Vander Kloet (1988). Basionym: Vaccinium sempervirens Rayner & Hend. 1980
Links to other floras: < Vaccinium crassifolium - FNA8
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Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FAC (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
Heliophily ⓘ: 5
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© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Alan Cressler: Vaccinium sempervirens, Chamaecyparis thyoides Swamp, Lexington County, South Carolina 3 by Alan Cressler source | Original Image ⭷Feedback
Horticultural Information
No horticultural data found for this taxon.