Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
Section: Oxycoccoides
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Bearberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Vaccinium erythrocarpum ssp. erythrocarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH The genus Vaccinium L. (Ericaceae) in Virginia (Uttal, 1987)
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-19-013:
Vaccinium erythrocarpum FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hugeria erythrocarpa
COMMON NAME:
Bearberry, Highbush Cranberry, Mountain Cranberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_oxer_001_lvd
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmverythrocarpum_gfm2
June Avery County NC
Grandfather Mountain
Easily identified by its distinctive slender, red, 4-parted flowers, per Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmverythrocarpum_mm1
June Yancey County NC
Mount Mitchell
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_062921otto32
June Macon County NC
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_062921otto33
June Macon County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm080924_077
September Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves finely serrate, glabrous, long-pointed. Fruit borne on long stalks, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Vaccinium erythrocarpum ssp. erythrocarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
The genus Vaccinium L. (Ericaceae) in Virginia (Uttal, 1987)
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-19-013:
Vaccinium erythrocarpum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hugeria erythrocarpa
1584
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Rocky ridges, shrub or grassy balds, bogs, spruce-fir forests, usually at high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare in GA
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pink
4-lobed calyx
4-lobed corolla (lobes strongly recurved)
8 stamens
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Red to black
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p117
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p188
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p29
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p364
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".
Or try alternate spellings: If "wooly" doesn't work, try "woolly" or just "wool".