Blueberry
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium. Vaccinium also includes cranberries, bilberries, huckleberries and Madeira blueberries.[1] Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) and cultivated (highbush)—are all native to North America. The highbush varieties were introduced into Europe during the 1930s.[2]
Blueberries are usually prostrate shrubs that can vary in size from 10 centimeters (4 inches) to 4 meters (13 feet) in height. In commercial production of blueberries, the species with small, pea-size berries growing on low-level bushes are known as "lowbush blueberries" (synonymous with "wild"), while the species with larger berries growing on taller, cultivated bushes are known as "highbush blueberries". Canada is the leading producer of lowbush blueberries, while the United States produces some 40% of the world supply of highbush blueberries.
The genus Vaccinium has a mostly circumpolar distribution, with species mainly present in North America, Europe, and Asia.[1] Many commercially available species with English common names including "blueberry" are from North America,[3] particularly Atlantic Canada and the northeastern United States for wild (lowbush) blueberries, and several US states and British Columbia for cultivated (highbush) blueberries.[4][5] First Nations peoples of Canada consumed wild blueberries for millennia before North America was colonized by Europeans.[4] Highbush blueberries were first cultivated in New Jersey around the beginning of the 20th century.[5][3]
North American native species of blueberries are grown commercially in the Southern Hemisphere in Australia, New Zealand and South American nations. The Colombian or Andean blueberry, Vaccinium meridionale, is wild-harvested and commonly available locally.[6] Several other wild shrubs of the genus Vaccinium also produce commonly eaten blue berries, such as the predominantly European Vaccinium myrtillus and other bilberries, which in many languages have a name that translates to "blueberry" in English.
Five species of blueberries grow wild in Canada, including Vaccinium myrtilloides, Vaccinium angustifolium and Vaccinium corymbosum, which grow on forest floors or near swamps.[7] Wild (lowbush) blueberries are not planted by farmers, but rather are managed on berry fields called "barrens".[4]
Wild blueberries reproduce by cross pollination, with each seed producing a plant with a different genetic composition, causing within the same species differences in growth, productivity, color, leaf characteristics, disease resistance, flavor, and other fruit characteristics.[7] The mother plant develops underground stems called rhizomes, allowing the plant to form a network of rhizomes creating a large patch (called a clone) which is genetically distinct.[7] Floral and leaf buds develop intermittently along the stems of the plant, with each floral bud giving rise to 5–6 flowers and the eventual fruit.[7] Wild blueberries prefer an acidic soil between 4.2 and 5.2 pH and only moderate amounts of moisture.[7] They have a hardy cold tolerance in their Canadian range and the U.S. state of Maine.[7] Fruit productivity of lowbush blueberries varies by the degree of pollination, genetics of the clone, soil fertility, water availability, insect infestation, plant diseases and local growing conditions.[7] Wild (lowbush) blueberries have an average mature weight of 0.3 grams (1⁄128 oz).[7]
