Vaccinium corymbosum
The Basics:
- Size: up to 10 feet wide and high; flowers 1/3” long; leaves 1-3” long.
- Color: white flowers; leaves dark green in summer becoming red, yellow and purple in fall; blue berries in mid-summer.
- Habitat: open areas near woodlands.
- Where to observe: around the city including Acme Pond in Wolfe Hill Park, Staten Island.
The Details:
Not only an ingredient in pies and muffins, the lovely Highbush Blueberry offers our wildlife – particularly birds – both shelter and a tasty meal.
In sunny conditions, this densely branched, rounded shrub can reach heights and widths of 10 feet. Delicate, urn-shaped, white, 1/3” long blooms drape twigs in late spring and are followed by simple, alternate, oval leaves in dark green, measuring 1-3” long.
Highbush Blueberry flowers, Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org
Come mid-summer, the plant features clusters of the ¼-1/2” diameter blue fruit it is known for, and by fall the green leaves provide intense fall color in shades of red, yellow and purple.
Highbush Blueberry fruit, Scott NeSmith, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
Look for Highbush Blueberry in clearings around wooded areas. A great place to check out is along Acme Pond of Staten Island’s Wolfe Hill Park.
References:
- Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia by Michael A. Dirr, published 1997 by Timber Press.
- Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City by Leslie Day, 2007, Johns Hopkins University Press.
- Native Plants of the Northeast: A Guide for Gardening and Conservation by Donald J. Leopold, published 2005 by Timber Press.
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