highbush blueberry - KPU Plant DB

Scientific Name:

Vaccinium corymbosum

Pronunciation:

vack-SIN-ee-um kore-im-BOE-sum

Common Name:

highbush blueberry

Family Name:

Ericaceae

Plant Type:

Shrub - deciduous

Key ID Features:

Stems are reddish-brown; leaves alternate, ovate-elliptic, most blades 3-6cm long x 1.5-4cm wide, glossy, dark green, undersides slightly glaucous and pubescent, margin serrate and wavy; flowers white, urn-shaped, ~1cm long, May-Jun; berries blue, Jun-Jul. Winter ID: twigs pubescent, reddish-brown; buds glabrous, scales tips pointed, claw-like.

Habit:

Arching, Dense, Upright

Form:

Vase

Texture:

Medium

Mature Height:

1.3 - 2.0m

Mature Spread:

1.0 - 1.5m

Growth Rate:

Fast

Origin:

Canada - eastern (eastern North America, Naturalized In BC)

Hardiness Rating:

Zone 3: (-40 to -34 °C)

Exposure:

Full sun, Part sun/part shade

Soil/Growing Medium:

Acidic, Well-drained

Water Use:

Moderate

Landscape Uses:

Attract beneficial insects, Attract birds, Attract butterflies, Mixed shrub border, Urban agriculture, Wildlife food

Additional Info:

Google. Cultivars shown or on campus may include V. 'Bluecrop', V. 'Duke', V. 'Northland'', V. 'North Sky', V. 'Reka', and V. 'Patriot' (only to 1.3m tall). Compare to European blueberry.

Leaf Morphology:

Glossary

Form:

Simple

Arrangement:

Alternate

Texture/Venation:

Leathery

Surfaces:

Glabrous

Colour in Fall:

Yellow, Orange, Purple, Red

Shapes:

Elliptic, Ovate

Apices:

Acuminate, Acute, Mucronate

Bases:

Attenuate

Margins:

Entire, Serrulate

Additional Info:

Spectacular fall colour

Inflorescence Type:

Raceme

Flower Morphology:

Flowers perfect

Number Of Petals:

5

Corolla Shape:

Urceolate

Ovary Position:

Inferior

Colour (petals):

White

Flower Scent:

None

Flower Time at Peak:

May, Jun

Additional Info:

Flowers are urn-shaped, and droop downward.

Fruit Type:

Berry (true), Edible

Fruit Colour:

Blue, Black

Fruiting Time:

Jul, Aug

Additional Info:

Edible, Botanically a false berry due to the inferior ovary (calyx opposite the pedicel like in pomes and the floral tube forms a thin layer of accessory tissue over the exocarp)