Vaccinium crassifolium, or the creeping blueberry, is a species of Vaccinium, part of the heath family. It is native to a portion of the Southeastern United States.
Description The species forms an evergreen shrub with shiny dark green to bronze leaves. It has a diploid set of genes, with a total of 24 chromosomes.
Taxonomy Vaccinium crassifolium is the only species in Vaccinium sect. Herpothamnus. Some sources have recognized a second species, V. sempervirens, but recent authors combine the two into a single species.
Creeping blueberries, although they are native to North America, do not seem to be most closely related to North American blueberries, but instead to South American Vaccinium species.
Distribution and habitat Vaccinium crassifolium is native to the coastal plain of Georgia, the Carolinas, and southeastern Virginia, especially in pine barrens but also in disturbed settings like roadsides and other open areas.15. Vaccinium crassifolium Andrews, Flora of North AmericaCreeping Blueberry, USDA, NRCS. 2006. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, consulted 2006-12-18). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Uses The leaves resemble those of bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and may be used in the latter's place in herbal medicine.416. Vaccinium crassifolium, A Manual of Organic Materia Medica and Pharmacognosy, by Lucius E. Sayre, B.S. Ph. M., 1917.
Vaccinium crassifolium has been cultivated since at least about 1787, and several cultivars are available for planting as a groundcover in landscaping gardens.
References
External links United States Department of Agriculture plants profile— Vaccinium crassifolium