Vaccinium L.

Blueberry

Similar species

	Gaylussacia baccata	Gaylussacia brachycera	Gaylussacia dumosa
Common Name	black huckleberry	box-huckleberry	dwarf huckleberry
Plant	1–3′ (30–91 cm) in height, with stiff branches that are light brown or greenish when young, changing to gray or black with age. Shrubs are found in colonies.	These low evergreen shrubs are 6–18″ (15–45 cm) high.	12–30″ (30–75 cm) in height, and heavily branched. Young twigs are covered with short, curly hairs.
Leaves	Oval, becoming orange/red in the fall. Leaves are coated with gold-colored resin glands. The resin can be seen by rubbing the leaves between your fingers, or on a piece of paper.	Leaves resemble boxwood leaves. They lack the resin glands found in other huckleberries, and are dark, glossy green, becoming bronze-colored or reddish-purple in the fall. They are ovate, with crenate or serrulate edges and leaf petioles (stems) 1/32–⅛″ (0.5–3 mm) long.	1″ (2.5 cm) long, leathery, and obovate to elliptic.
Flowers	Pink, about ⅜″ (9.5 mm) in size, and urn-shaped, in racemes. They bloom from May to July.	White or pinkish, urn-shaped, about ⅛″ (4 mm) in size, appearing from May to June.	Bell-shaped, cream-colored, tinged with pink, appearing in June.
Fruit	Berries contain 10 seeds, fewer than blueberries.	Resembles blueberries, but with fewer, larger seeds. They are about ⅜″ (1.2 cm) in size.	Berries are about ¼″ (8 mm) in diameter, each with 10 seeds, fewer than for blueberries.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Open woods and thickets; in rocky, sandy soil		Forests, especially pine forests; bogs, bays, wet sandy soil.

	Gaylussacia frondosa	Vaccinium angustifolium	Vaccinium corymbosum
Common Name	blue huckleberry	lowbush blueberry	highbush blueberry
Plant	Deciduous, heavily branched, and up to 6½′ (2 m) in height.	Up to 2′ (60 cm) tall, usually less than half that.	Said to be up to 12′ (3.7 m) in height, though I have never seen one larger than 4′ (1.2 m) high.
Leaves	Up to 2½″ (7 cm) × 1¼″ (3.5 cm), and hairy and glandular on the leaf bottoms.	Glossy green, elliptic, turning red-purple in the fall.	About 1″ (2.5 cm) long, dark green on top, lighter below. In the fall, leaves turn a whole range of colors—yellow, orange, red.
Flowers	Greenish-white.	White, sometimes tinged with pink, bell-shaped, in dense clusters, ⅛″ (5 mm) long.	Less than ½″ (1.3 cm) long, pinkish or white, bell- or urn-shaped.
Fruit	¼″ (8 mm) in diameter, usually blue, but may be black or even white. Flowers and fruits hang on long petioles.	⅛–½″ (3.2–12 mm) in diameter, dark blue, sometimes almost black.	¼–½″ (6.3–12 mm) in diameter, dark blue, sometimes black.
Range/ Zones		USDA Zones: 2-6	USDA Zones: 5-8
Habitats	Wooded areas near bogs and swamps; acidic soils.	Sandy, acidic soils	Near swampy areas

	Vaccinium deliciosum	Vaccinium fuscatum	Vaccinium macrocarpon
Common Name	blue huckleberry	black highbush blueberry	American cranberry
Plant	Deciduous shrubs are less than 1′ (30 cm) high, forming sprawling mats.	Shrubs are perennials, reaching 11′ (3.5 m), with brown bark.	Vine-like, creeping up to 6′ (1.8 m) horizontally, but less than 8″ (20 cm) high. If you aren't standing or floating in a bog, you probably aren't looking at cranberries.
Leaves	Alternate, oblong to egg-shaped, about ⅝–1¼″ (1.7–3.5 cm) × ¼–⅝″ (9–17 mm), with finely serrated (sometimes smooth) edges.	Alternate, 1–1¼″ (3–3.5 cm) × ⅝–⅞″ (1.6–2.5 cm) wide, and lanceolate, elliptic, or ovate; thick and leathery, hairless above, finely hairy and much lighter in color below.	About ½″ (1.3 cm) long, oval, shiny on top.
Flowers	Pink or red, globose (spherical) or urn-shaped, ⅛–3/16″ (4–6 mm) × ⅛–¼″ (5–7 mm). They appear from May to July.	Urn-shaped and cream-colored, with pink bases and sometimes pink stripes, about ⅛″ (6 mm) in size.	Pale pink or white, about ½″ (1.3 cm) long, with four petals that curve strongly backward.
Fruit	Blue to dull black, coated with a white waxy powder, ¼–½″ (9–13 mm) in diameter.	⅛–⅜″ (6–10 mm) in diameter.	Berries are ½–1″ (1.3–2.5 cm) in diameter and quite hard, like tiny apples.
Range/ Zones			USDA Zones: 3-7
Habitats	Alpine meadows, subalpine coniferous woods, talus slopes; elevations of 1969–6562′ (600–2000 m)	Woodlands, medium shade, acid soils, swampy areas	Acidic bogs

	Vaccinium myrtilloides	Vaccinium oxycoccos	Vaccinium uliginosum
Common Name	velvetleaf blueberry	small cranberry	bog huckleberry
Plant	These spreading shrubs are up to 1½′ (50 cm) in height, with stems covered with fine hairs.	Small cranberries form mats of tiny shrubs only a few centimeters in height.	1½–3′ (50–100 cm) high; on mountains, 4–6″ (10–15 cm) high.
Leaves	Deciduous, alternate, ⅞–1¼″ (2.3–3.5 cm) × ¼–⅝″ (8–16 mm), bright green above, much lighter below, covered with soft and velvety hairs.	Leaf edges are rolled under. Leaves are opposite, roughly oval (ovate), wider at the base, pointed at the tip.	Obovate to elliptic to oblong, ⅜–1″ (1–3 cm) × ⅛–½″ (6–15 mm).
Flowers	White, urn-shaped, about 1/16–3/16″ (3–5 mm) in size, appearing May-June.	Dark pink, and four-petaled, with the petals bending way back to the stem ("reflexed").	Flowers are pink (really white/pink striped), urn-shaped. They appear in June.
Fruit	⅛–¼″ (6–8 mm) in diameter, usually blue with a whitish waxy bloom, sometimes purplish black.	Less than ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter, while large cranberries are more than ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter. Both are deep red when ripe.	Dark blue and covered with a waxy whitish coating.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Acidic soils, coniferous woods, forested bogs, rocky areas.		Wet, acid soils; sun or partial shade

	Vaccinium vitis-idaea
Common Name	lingonberry
Plant	Plants are small evergreen shrubs 2–7″ (5–17 cm) tall.
Leaves	Less than ¾″ (1.9 cm) long, usually closer to ½″ (1.3 cm); dark green and shiny on top.
Flowers	White or pink, and bell-shaped, about ¼″ (6.3 mm) long.
Fruit	Berries are bright red, ¼–⅜″ (6.3–10 mm) in diameter.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Temperate to subarctic climates—bogs, moist forests, rocky barrens, open slopes and dry woods

Vaccinium description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.