Family: Ericaceae
[Vaccinium vitis-idaea subsp. minus (Lodd.) Hultén, more...]
Paul B. Marcum
Paul B. Marcum
Etymology: vitis: grape.
Plants: densely colonial, mat-forming shrub; 10-35 cm tall.
Leaves: pale with dark bristle-like glands, bright green above, leathery, evergreen, elliptic to obovate, 5-18 x 3-9 mm, margins entire, slightly revolute.
Flowers: corolla pinkish white, bell-shaped, 3-5 mm long, 4-parted, lobes divided almost to the middle; stamens 8; inflorescence with 2-3 flowers in a cluster at the ends of the stems.
Fruits: berries, red, 8-10 mm, with ca. 10-20 seeds, edible.
Habitat: acidic, nutrient poor sites with direct sunlight; bogs, muskegs, conifer swamps, sandstone cliffs along Lake Superior.
Phenology: Flowering time: early May through late June; Fruiting time: late July through early September.
Plants: densely colonial, mat-forming shrub; 10-35 cm tall.
Leaves: pale with dark bristle-like glands, bright green above, leathery, evergreen, elliptic to obovate, 5-18 x 3-9 mm, margins entire, slightly revolute.
Flowers: corolla pinkish white, bell-shaped, 3-5 mm long, 4-parted, lobes divided almost to the middle; stamens 8; inflorescence with 2-3 flowers in a cluster at the ends of the stems.
Fruits: berries, red, 8-10 mm, with ca. 10-20 seeds, edible.
Habitat: acidic, nutrient poor sites with direct sunlight; bogs, muskegs, conifer swamps, sandstone cliffs along Lake Superior.
Phenology: Flowering time: early May through late June; Fruiting time: late July through early September.
Vaccinium vitis-idaea (under the synonym V. vitis-idaea subsp. minus) is State Endangered in Wisconsin. Its distribution is circumboreal.
Floristic Rating: Coefficient of Conservatism = 10, Wetland Indicator = FAC. WIS DNR-Bureau of Endangered Resources: Detailed information on Wisconsin listed species including state and federal status, photos, etc. Flora of North America: Flora of North America taxonomic treatment. USDA Plants Database: North American distribution, detailed information, and photographs. Virginia Tech Dept. of Forestry, College of Natural Resources: Fact sheet. Southwest School of Botanical Medicine: Britton & Brown Illustrated Flora - 2nd Edition (1913) "An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada."
Paul B. Marcum
Paul B. Marcum
Paul B. Marcum
Emmet J. Judziewicz
Emmet J. Judziewicz
Kitty Kohout
Botanical Illustration