a growing food movement
Native Plant Highlight: Shiny Blueberry Vaccinium myrsinites: hedge trimmers not necessary.
by Amy Bowen Carter, University of Georgia, Tifton Campus Are you looking for a low growing, fine textured, evergreen shrub, suitable for large or small garden landscapes? Shiny blueberry may be just the plant for you. Find a space with very good drainage and sun to part shade, and Vaccinium myrsinites will thrive: hedge trimmers are not wanted and not necessary. Description.
Vaccinium myrsinites is hardy in zones 8-10. The small, fine textured, glossy leaves are
mostly evergreen, alternately arranged, and are ovate to elliptic, with entire margins. A strong magnifying lens is required to see the fine hairs on the stems and red glands on the underside of the leaves. Clusters of white to light pink flowers appear in spring. Serious botanists would describe the lovely cylindrical flowers as urceolate, or urn shaped, typical of vaccinium species. Fruits are shiny, dark blue or black round berries, about one fourth to one third inch in diameter. Mature height is about 1 to 3 feet; the width increases as the plants colonize, spreading by robust underground rhizomes. Natural habitats.
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According to U.S. Department of Agriculture and
U.S. Forest Service, distribution of shiny blueberry, aka dwarf blueberry, ground blueberry, and Florida evergreen blueberry, is in the coastal plain regions of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina and the entire state
Photo by Heather Brasell.
of Florida. The plant is a prominent component of scrubby, xeric pine flatwoods, oak-palmetto scrub, pine-oak scrub and scrub palmetto communities (Tirmenstein, 1990). Wildlife value.
Perhaps due to the limited natural range in the U.S., wildlife uses are not well
documented. The berries are sweet and rich in vitamin C and energy content, making it “highly palatable to a wide variety of birds and mammals� (Tirmenstein, 1990). It is known that raccoon, black bear, mice, fox, and squirrel feed on the fruit of many Vaccinium species; it is likely that those mammals would find the fruit of shiny blueberry enticing. The structure of the low growing, multistemmed, colonizing plants could provide cover for small birds and mammals. Considerations for your garden.
Vaccinium myrsinites performs well in acidic soils. Good drainage is
an essential requirement. The colonizing habit of the plants could be used to advantage in the landscape: to stabilize a slope, to fill an awkward space created by walkways, to provide a fine-textured element in the design. (con tinued on page 32)
ISSUE ~ 5 ~ 2019
