Vaccinium arboreum
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Vaccinium arboreum (sparkleberry or farkleberry) is a species of Vaccinium native to the southeastern and south-central United States.
Description
Vaccinium arboreum is a shrub (rarely a small tree) growing to Template:Convert, rarely Template:Convert tall,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". with a diameter at breast height of up to Template:Convert.[1] The leaves are evergreen in the south of the range, but deciduous further north where winters are colder; they are oval-elliptic with an acute apex, Template:Convert long and 2–4 cm broad, with a smooth or very finely toothed margin.
The flowers are white, bell-shaped, and Template:Convert in diameter with a five-lobed corolla, produced in racemes up to Template:Convert long. The fruit is a round dry berry about Template:Convert in diameter, green at first, black when ripe, bitter and tough.[1] Cytology is 2n = 24.[2]
Distribution and habitat
Sparkleberry could be found in the United States from southern Virginia west to southeastern Nebraska, south to Florida and eastern Texas, and north to Illinois.[3][4] It grows in sandy and rocky habitats, including dry woods. It also grows on a variety of moist sites such as wet bottomlands and along creek banks.[1]
Ecology
The berries are eaten by various wildlife.[5]
Uses
Because of its relative hardiness in comparison to other Vaccinium species, V. arboreum has been investigated as a potential rootstock for expanding the range of blueberry cultivation to less acidic soils (pH>6.0) and reducing the severity of bacterial leaf scorch.[6]
References
External links
- Template:GRIN
- Missouri Plants: Vaccinium arboreum
- Virginia Tech Dendrology: Vaccinium arboreum
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile of Vaccinium arboreum
- ↑ a b c Flora of North America, Vaccinium arboreum Marshall, 1785. Farkleberry
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
- ↑ USDA; Native Distribution - V. arboreum . accessed 11.10.2010
- ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
