- Vaccinium crassifolium
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Vaccinium crassifolium 
A plant at the US Botanical Garden Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Ericales Family: Ericaceae Genus: Vaccinium Species: V. crassifolium Binomial name Vaccinium crassifolium
Andr.Vaccinium crassifolium, the Creeping blueberry, is a species of Vaccinium native to the four Southeastern U.S. states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. It is an evergreen shrub with shiny dark green to bronze leaves.
Contents
Distribution
It is native to the coastal plain of Georgia, the Carolinas, and southern Virginia, especially in pine barrens but also in disturbed settings like roadsides and other open areas.[1][2]
Taxonomy
Vaccinium crassifolium is the only species in Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus. Some sources have recognized a second species, V. sempervirens, but recent authors combine the two into a single species.[2][3] Creeping blueberries, although they are native to North America, do not seem to be most closely related to North American blueberries, but instead to South American Vaccinium species.[3]
Uses
Medicinal usage
The leaves have medicinal properties similar to bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).[4]
Cultivation
Vaccinium crassifolium has been cultivated since at least about 1787,[3] and several cultivars are available for planting as a ground cover in landscaping gardens.[5]
References
- ^ Creeping Blueberry, USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, consulted 2006-12-18). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
- ^ a b 15. Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews, Flora of North America
- ^ a b c Kirkman, W. B. & J. R. Ballington (Oct–Dec 1990), "Creeping blueberries (Ericaceae: Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus) - a new look at Vaccinium crassifolium including V. sempervirens", Systematic Botany 15 (4): 679–699, doi:10.2307/2419164
- ^ 416. VACCINIUM CRASSIFOLIUM, A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M., 1917.
- ^ MacKenzie, David, S.. Perennial Ground Covers. p. 309. ISBN 0-88192-557-8.
External links
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