Vaccinium pallidum

{{Short description|Berry and plant}} {{speciesbox | image = Vaccinium_pallidum.jpg | status = G5 | status_system = TNC | status_ref = <ref name=NatureServe/> | parent = Vaccinium sect. Cyanococcus | taxon = Vaccinium pallidum | authority = [[William Aiton|Aiton]] 1789 | synonyms_ref = <ref name=fna/> | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title=Synonymy |''Cyanococcus liparis'' Small |''Cyanococcus margarettae'' (Ashe) Small |''Cyanococcus pallidus'' (Aiton) Small |''Cyanococcus subcordatus'' Small |''Cyanococcus tallapusae'' Coville ex Small |''Cyanococcus vacillans]'' (Kalm ex Torrey) Rydberg |''Vaccinium altomontanum]'' Ashe |''Vaccinium corymbosum'' var. ''pallidum'' (Aiton) A. Gray |''Vaccinium margarettae'' Ashe |''Vaccinium vacillans'' Kalm ex Torrey |''Vaccinium vacillans'' var. ''crinitum'' Fernald |''Vaccinium vacillans'' var. ''missouriense'' Ashe |''Vaccinium viride'' Ashe }}}} '''''Vaccinium pallidum''''' is a species of flowering plant in the [[heath family]] known by the common names '''hillside blueberry''', '''Blue Ridge blueberry''', '''late lowbush blueberry''', and '''early lowbush blueberry'''. It is native to central Canada and the central and eastern United States.

== Description == ''Vaccinium pallidum'' is a deciduous [[shrub]], erect in stature but variable in height. It generally grows {{convert|23|to|51|cm|in|0|sp=us}} tall, but depending on environmental conditions it ranges from {{Convert|8|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} to {{Convert|1|m}} in height. It is colonial, sprouting from its [[rhizome]] to form [[Colony (biology)|colonies]] of [[Cloning|clones]]. The shrub has greenish brown to red bark on its stems, and the smaller twigs may be green, reddish, yellowish, or gray. The alternately arranged [[leaves]] are also variable. They are generally roughly oval and measure {{Convert|2 to 6|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long. They are green to yellowish or bluish in color, turning red in the fall.

The flowers are cylindrical, bell-shaped, or urn-shaped and are borne in [[raceme]]s of up to 11. They are white to pinkish or greenish in color,<ref name="feis">{{FEIS|genus=Vaccinium|species=pallidum|type=shrub|last=Tirmenstein|first=D. A.|date=1991}}</ref> or "greenish white with pink striping",<ref name="fna">{{eFloras|1|242417402|Vaccinium pallidum |first=Sam P. |last=Vander Kloet |volume=8}}</ref> and about {{Convert|0.5-1|cm|abbr=on|frac=8}} long.<ref name="feis" /><ref name="fna" /> They are [[pollination|pollinated]] by [[bee]]s such as [[bombus|bumblebees]] and ''[[Andrena carlini]]''.<ref name="fna" /> The fruit is a [[Berry (botany)|berry]] up to 1.2 cm long. It is waxy blue to shiny black in color, or rarely pure white. It contains several seeds, a few of which are generally not viable. The plant reproduces [[sexual reproduction|sexually]] via seed and [[vegetative reproduction|vegetatively]] by sprouting from the rhizome.<ref name="feis" /><ref>{{BONAP |genus=Vaccinium |species=pallidum |date=2014}}</ref> Cytology is 2n = 24, 48.<ref name="y832">{{cite journal | last1=Redpath | first1=Lauren E. | last2=Aryal | first2=Rishi | last3=Lynch | first3=Nathan | last4=Spencer | first4=Jessica A. | last5=Hulse-Kemp | first5=Amanda M. | last6=Ballington | first6=James R. | last7=Green | first7=Jaimie | last8=Bassil | first8=Nahla | last9=Hummer | first9=Kim | last10=Ranney | first10=Thomas | last11=Ashrafi | first11=Hamid | title=Nuclear DNA contents and ploidy levels of North American ''Vaccinium'' species and interspecific hybrids | journal=Scientia Horticulturae | volume=297 | year=2022 | issn=0304-4238 | doi=10.1016/j.scienta.2022.110955 | article-number=110955| doi-access=free | bibcode=2022ScHor.29710955R }}</ref><ref name="v428">{{cite journal | last1=Hall | first1=Susan H. | last2=Galletta | first2=G. J. | title=Comparative chromosome morphology of diploid ''Vaccinium'' species | journal=Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science | publisher=American Society for Horticultural Science | volume=96 | issue=3 | year=1971 | issn=0003-1062 | doi=10.21273/jashs.96.3.289 | pages=289–292| doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Distribution and habitat == ''Vaccinium pallidum'' is native to central Canada ([[Ontario]]) and the central and eastern United States (from [[Maine]] west to [[Wisconsin]] and south as far as [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Louisiana]]) plus the [[Ozarks]] of [[Missouri]], [[Arkansas]], southeastern [[Kansas]] and eastern [[Oklahoma]].<ref name="feis" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vaccinium pallidum Aiton {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:317268-2 |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Plants of the World Online |language=en}}</ref>

It grows in many types of habitat, including oak and chestnut woodlands, maple-dominated swamps, [[pine barrens]], pine [[savanna]], and a variety of forest types. It grows in the [[understory]] of trees such as [[Quercus rubra|red oak]], [[Quercus velutina|black oak]], [[Quercus alba|white oak]], [[Quercus stellata|post oak]], [[Quercus prinus|chestnut oak]], [[Quercus marilandica|blackjack oak]], [[Pinus virginiana|Virginia pine]], [[Pinus echinata|shortleaf pine]], [[Pinus rigida|pitch pine]], [[Pinus taeda|loblolly pine]], [[Pinus palustris|longleaf pine]], [[Pinus banksiana|jack pine]], [[Tsuga canadensis|eastern hemlock]], [[Acer rubrum|red maple]], and [[Prunus serotina|black cherry]].<ref name="feis" />

''Vaccinium pallidum'' is common on disturbed sites such as roadsides and abandoned fields. It also grows at [[climax species|climax]] in old-growth oak stands in the [[South Carolina]] [[Piedmont (United States)|piedmont]]. It can grow on dry, rocky soils, sandy and gravelly soils, and heavy clay. The climate is generally [[humid]].<ref name=feis/>

== Uses == The wild fruits are food for many types of bird and other animals. Each individual fruit has approximately eight [[calorie]]s. For humans the taste is "sweet to bland" and the fruit can be eaten fresh, in pies, or as [[fruit preserves|jelly]]. The fruit is harvested and sold commercially in some areas, such as northeastern [[Alabama]] and northwestern Georgia. The plant is also grown as an [[ornamental plant|ornamental]].<ref name=feis/>

==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=NatureServe>{{cite web |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136110/Vaccinium_pallidum |title=''Vaccinium pallidum'' Early Lowbush Blueberry |date=5 September 2025 |publisher=NatureServe |access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref> }}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Vaccinium pallidum|''Vaccinium pallidum''}} *[https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VAPA4 United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile] *[http://www.tropicos.org/Image/100004723 photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Missouri in 1991]

[[Category:Vaccinium|pallidum]] [[Category:Blueberries]] [[Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States]] [[Category:Flora of the Southeastern United States]] [[Category:Flora of the North-Central United States]] [[Category:Flora of Ontario]] [[Category:Plants described in 1789]] [[Category:Taxa named by William Aiton]]