Vaccinium angustifolium

Vaccinium angustifolium, commonly known as thewild lowbush blueberry, is a species ofblueberrynative to eastern and centralCanadaand thenortheasternUnited States. It is the most common commercially used wild blueberry and is considered the "low sweet" berry.
Vaccinium angustifoliumis a low spreadingdeciduousshrubgrowing5 to 60 centimetres (2 to23+1⁄2in) tall.Itsrhizomescan lie dormant up to 100 years, and when given the adequate amount of sunlight, soil moisture, and oxygen content they will sprout.Theleavesare glossy blue-green in summer, turning a variety of reds in the fall. The leaf shape is broad to elliptical. Buds are brownish red in stem axils. Theflowersare white or pink,bell-shaped,4 to 6 millimetres (1⁄8to1⁄4in) long.Thefruitis a small sweet dark blue to black berry, full ofantioxidantsandflavonoids.
Several buds may be on a healthy stem, and each bud can open up and have several blossoms. A blueberry field that has full plant coverage can have as many as 150 million blossoms per acre.
Cytologyis 2n = 48.
Thespecies epithetangustifoliumis a combination of the Latin wordsangustummeaning 'narrow', andfoliummeaning 'leaf'.
The lowbush blueberry is native to central and easternCanada(fromManitobatoNewfoundland) as well as north-central and eastern United States(growing as far south as theGreat Smoky Mountainsand west to theGreat Lakesregion).In its native habitat the plant grows in open conifer woods, old fields, and sandy or rocky balds.
Glacier ice from theIce Agesculpted theMainelandscape and is responsible for creating some of the most productiveV. angustifoliumhabitats.The species isfire-tolerant, and its numbers often increase in an area following a forest fire.
This plant grows best in wooded areas, old abandoned farmyards or open areas with well-drainedacidic soils. In some areas it produces natural blueberry barrens, where it is practically the only species covering large areas.
Many animals feed on the fruit and foliage of the lowbush berry, some of which includeblack bears,raccoons,foxes,white-tailed deerandbirds.
Its leaves are also popular among caterpillars. It is a larval host to thepale tiger moth, thepeppered moth,thechain-dotted geometer, thesaw-wing moth, theblueberry gray moth, themousy angle moth,Caloptilia vacciniella,Andromeda underwing, theshadowy arches, thetwo-spot dart,thedingy cutworm moth, thespeckled cutworm,thedecorated owlet, thepirate looper,Norman's dart, thegray swordgrass moth, thepink-edged sulphurbutterfly, thepawpaw sphinxmoth, and theblueberry leaftier moth.
Vaccinium angustifoliumhas a two-year production cycle.The first year is known as the vegetative year and the second is known as the fruit-bearing year.
In order to be productive each year, most farmers divide their land to have half their crop in the vegetative year while the other half is in the fruit-bearing year.
Traditionally, blueberry growers burn their fields every few years to eliminate shrubs and fertilize the soil. InAcadian French, a blueberry field is known as abrûlis(frombrûlé'burnt') because of that technique, which is still in use.
Native Americansregularly burned away trees and shrubs in parts of eastern Maine to stimulate blueberry production.  Modern farmers use various methods of burning or mowing to accomplish this.There are several methods growers use to stimulate blueberry production on their land, such as burning the land or using a flail mower, bush hog, lawnmower, etc. to cut the plants off as close to the ground as possible without scalping the land. These procedures are used to promote the spreading of rhizomes under the soil. Some growers use a sickle bar mower in the fall after the crop has been harvested to mow the plants off, leaving roughly 1 to 2 inches of stem so the growers can then burn the remainder of the plants in the spring, using less fuel for the fire.
Farmers then treat their crops with pesticides to control weeds and insects.The fields are then left for new growth to emerge, develop, and flourish for the remainder of the year.
During the harvest or fruit bearing year, blueberry growers renthoney beehives to put in their fields for pollination. These hives are placed in the fields at a density range of anywhere from 1-8 hives per acre. The hives are placed in the fields at 10-20% bloom allowing the bees to have enough forage rather than going elsewhere to forage. Hives are left in blueberry fields for 2 weeks on average, allowing the bees to pollinate the variety of clones in the field, all of which bloom at different times during the two-week period.
Some growers also usebumblebeesas well in hopes of maximum pollination. Bumblebees will fly in colder and wetter weather conditions than the honey bee will, and they also pollinate in a different way than the honey bee. Bumblebees can sonicate the flowers, which releases pollen from deep inside theporicidalanthers. This is known asbuzz pollination.
Blueberry growers also rely on many wild bees for pollination, includingsolitary beeslikeAndrena carliniandColletes inaequalis.
The wild lowbush blueberry is the Nova Scotian Provincial Berry.Oxford, Nova Scotia, is nicknamed the "Wild Blueberry Capital of Canada".
It is also thestate fruitof Maine.Maine's state dessert is blueberry pie made with wild blueberries.