Vaccinium crassifolium
| Vaccinium crassifolium | |
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| A plant at the US Botanical Garden | |
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| Species: | V. crassifolium
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| Binomial name | |
| Vaccinium crassifolium Andr.
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Creeping blueberry (Vaccinium crassifolium) is a species of Vaccinium native to the southeastern United States. It is evergreen with shiny dark green to bronze leaves. It has been cultivated since at least about 1787,[1] and several cultivars are available for planting as a ground cover in landscaping.[2]
It is native to the coastal plain of Georgia, the Carolinas, and southern Virginia, especially in pine barrens but also in disturbed settings like roadsides and other open areas.[3][4]
Taxonomy
V. crassifolium is the only species in Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus. Some sources have recognized a second species, V. sempervirens, but recent authors combine the two into a single species.[1][4] Creeping blueberries, although they are native to North America, do not seem to be most closely related to North American blueberries, but instead to South American Vaccinium species.[1]
Medicinal usage
The leaves have medicinal properties similar to bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).[5]
References
- ^ a b c Kirkman, W. B. & J. R. Ballington (Oct–Dec 1990), "Creeping blueberries (Ericaceae: Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus) - a new look at Vaccinium crassifolium including V. sempervirens", Systematic Botany, 15 (4): 679–699, doi:10.2307/2419164
- ^ MacKenzie, David, S. Perennial Ground Covers. p. 309. ISBN 0-88192-557-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Creeping Blueberry, USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, consulted 2006-12-18). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
- ^ a b 15. Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews, Flora of North America
- ^ 416. VACCINIUM CRASSIFOLIUM, A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M., 1917.
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