Lowbush blueberry
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| iLowbush Blueberry | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Vaccinium angustifolium, Pancake Bay PP.jpg | ||||||||||||||
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| Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton |
Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) is a species of blueberry native to eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States, growing as far south as West Virginia and west to Minnesota and Manitoba.
It is a low spreading deciduous shrub growing to 60 cm tall, though usually 35 cm tall or less. The leaves are glossy blue-green in summer, turning purple in the fall. The leaf shape is broad to elyptic. Buds are brownish red in stem axels. The flowers are white, bell-shaped, 5 mm long. The fruit is a small sweet dark blue to black berry. This plant grows best in wooded or open areas with well-drained acidic soils. In some areas it produces natural blueberry barrens, where it is practically the only species covering large areas. This plant is fire-tolerant and its numbers often increase in an area following a forest fire.
This native plant is also grown commercially in Canada and Maine, mainly harvested from managed wild patches. It is also a favorite of recreational berry pickers, black bears, rodents and birds. The Lowbush Blueberry is the state fruit of Maine.
