| Section 6 » Order Ericales » Family Ericaceae |
Show/Hide Synonym
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| Vaccinium fuscatum | < | Vaccinium corymbosum | Gleason and Cronquist (1991) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | < | Vaccinium corymbosum | Flora of North America (1993b, 1997, 2000, 2002a, 2002b, 2003a, 2004b, 2005, 2006a, 2006b, 2006c, 2007a, 2009, 2010) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | < | Vaccinium corymbosum | Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004). Key based in part on Uttal (1987). | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | < | Vaccinium corymbosum | | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | < | Vaccinium corymbosum | Wunderlin & Hansen Flora of Florida (3) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | < | Vaccinium corymbosum | Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004). Key based in part on Uttal (1987). | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | = | Vaccinium atrococcum | Fernald (1950) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | = | Vaccinium atrococcum | Gleason (1952) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | = | Vaccinium atrococcum | Radford, Ahles, and Bell (1968) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | = | Vaccinium atrococcum | Stevens et al. in Kubitzki (2004). Key based in part on Uttal (1987). | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | ? | Vaccinium marianum | Gleason (1952) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | > | Cyanococcus fuscatus | Small (1933, 1938) | | | Vaccinium fuscatum | > | Cyanococcus atrococcus | Small (1933, 1938) | | | Source: Weakley's Flora |
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| Author | Aiton | |
| Distribution | Occurs throughout the state, and possibly occurring in all counties, though generally scarce in the higher Mountains and is possibly absent in some central and northern counties in that province.
This has one of the broadest ranges of any Eastern blueberry species, ranging north from ME and southern MI south to most of FL and eastern TX. It is scarce in most Great Lakes states.
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| Abundance | Common and widespread over much of the Coastal Plain; fairly common in much of the Piedmont, seemingly less numerous in the northern counties, though not scarce. Infrequent to at least locally fairly common in the lower Mountains. | |
| Habitat | This Vaccinium has the widest habitat selection of all such species in the state. It favors damp ground of drier swamps, acidic bottomlands, pocosins, and other wet places, including bogs. However, it often grows in upland forests, mainly in pine stands, though usually not in xeric or sandy pine stands but in more mesic and well-drained sites such as in Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) forests. |
| Phenology | Blooms from late February into May, typically as the leaves are starting to emerge; fruits from June to August. | |
| Identification | This is a deciduous, medium-height shrub that grows to an average of 5-10 feet tall. It has standard, elliptical and medium-sized “blueberry” leaves, to about 2-3 inches long. However, the twigs and undersides of the leaves are densely hairy, as opposed to more glabrous or sparsely hairy for the similar V. formosum, which also grows in similar Coastal Plain wetlands. In addition, V. fuscatum has quite small and urn-shaped flowers, barely 5-8 mm long (about 1/4-inch long) that are often pink or green tinged. As the common name implies, the fruits are black as opposed to dark blue of several other highbush blueberries. To most biologists, this is the most familiar and often seen of the taller “highbush” blueberries in the state. In a current study of highbush blueberries (Chinquapin 29, Fall 2023) Devani Jolman of ODU in VA has documented many intermediates between formosum and fuscatum. These hybrids show intermediate values of leaf pubescence and flower size. So far, she believes that the parents are distinct species, and NCVP Taxon Editors will do the same. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | Most people knew this species as V. atrococcum until fairly recently, but essentially all references have now renamed the species as V. fuscatum.
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| Other Common Name(s) | Hairy Highbush Blueberry | |
| State Rank | S5 | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
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| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FAC link |
