Vaccinium corymbosum, the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry. Other common names include blue huckleberry, tall huckleberry, swamp huckleberry, high blueberry, and swamp blueberry.

Description

Vaccinium corymbosum is a deciduous shrub growing to 6 - 12 ft tall and wide. It is often found in dense thickets. The dark glossy green leaves are elliptical and up to 2 in long. In autumn, the leaves turn to a brilliant red, orange, yellow, and/or purple. The flowers are long bell- or urn-shaped white to very light pink, 1/3 in long. The fruit is a blue-black berry with a 1/4 to 1/2 in diameter. The species is tetraploid and does not self-pollinate. Most cultivars have a chilling requirement greater than 800 hours. Cytology is 2n = 48.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south as far as Florida and eastern Texas. It is also naturalized in other places including Europe, Japan, New Zealand, and the North American Pacific Northwest. The plant is found in wooded or open habitats with moist acidic soils.

Ecology

In natural habitats, the berries are a food source for native and migrating birds, bears, and small mammals. The foliage is browsed by deer and rabbits.

Uses

The berries were collected and used in Native American cuisine in areas where V. corymbosum grew natively. Many wild species of Vaccinium are thought to have been cultivated by Native Americans for thousands of years, with intentional crop burnings in northeastern areas being apparent from archeological evidence. V. corymbosum, being one of the species likely used by these peoples, was later studied and domesticated in 1908 by Elizabeth Coleman White and Frederick Vernon Coville. It went on to become the most common commercially grown blueberry in North America. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant for home and wildlife gardens and natural landscaping projects. The soil pH must be very acidic (4.5 to 5.5).

Cultivars

Some common cultivar varieties are listed here, grouped by approximate start of the harvest season: The cultivars Duke and Spartan have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Southern highbush blueberry

Some named Southern highbush blueberry are hybridized forms derived from crosses between V. corymbosum and V. darrowii, a native of the Southeastern U.S. These hybrids and other cultivars of V. darrowii (Southern highbush blueberry) have been developed for cultivation in warm southern and western regions of North America.