Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton

Lowbush blueberry, blueberry

About plant names...

Blueberries grow practically everywhere in Maine, where I grew up. They like acid, sandy soils. While vacationing at our camp on Sebago Lake each summer, we collected blueberries at Bradbury Mountain and other locations. Some of them even made it back down the mountain. Blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes, blueberry muffins: delightful!

Identification: Wild blueberries are much smaller than their cultivated cousins, about ⅛-¼" (3.2-6.3 mm) inch in diameter. They are also more flavorful, not just more intense but somehow sweeter. Plants are rarely over a foot or so in height, though they can reach up to 30" (76 cm) if sheltered. Leaves are a glossy dark green color in the summer. In the fall, they turn reddish-purple. Flowers are small and white, shaped like tiny bells. Fruits are dark blue.

This Vaccinium comparision chart also includes a couple of similar-appearing species that are not Vaccinium.

Edibility: Scrumptious.

Online References:

Earl J.S. Rook's Flora, Fauna, Earth, and Sky ... The Natural History of the Northwoods

Wikipedia

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Illinois Wildflowers

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Vital Signs Gulf of Maine Research Institute

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

EFloras

5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

7/2/2015 · Bemis Rd., Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm)

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 6 × 4½" (15 × 12 cm)

4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 4" (13 × 9.9 cm)

5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 4 × 5" (10 × 13 cm)

5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

9/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 6" (17 × 14 cm)

Vaccinium angustifolium description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 26 Jul 2023.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

5/15/2015 · Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 7" (18 × 16 cm)

5/12/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Mass­a­chu­setts

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 13 cm)

5/15/2015 · Willard Brook State Park, Ashby, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (15 × 12 cm)

5/7/2021 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 4 × 5" (11 × 13 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 3½" (10 × 9.2 cm)

5/14/2015 · Silver Lake, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

8/13/2017 · Burges Pond, Westford, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 3½" (9.5 × 8.7 cm)

5/12/2016 · Wildlife Pond Trail, Beaver Broo, Hollis, New Hamp­shire

7/22/1987 · Camp, Sebago Lake, Maine

5/14/2015 · Silver Lake, Hollis, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm)

Range: Zones 2-6:

About this map...