Blueberry
Overview
Blueberries are flowering plant
s of the genus
Vaccinium
(a genus which also includes cranberries
and bilberries
) with dark-blue berries and are perennial. Species
in the section
Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as "blueberries" and are native to North America
(commercially cultivated highbush blueberries were not introduced into Europe until the 1930s).
They are usually erect but sometimes prostrate
shrub
s varying in size from 10 centimetres (3.9 in) to 4 metres (157.5 in) tall.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Vaccinium
Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae. The fruit of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry or whortleberry, lingonberry or cowberry, and huckleberry...
(a genus which also includes cranberries
Cranberry
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right...
and bilberries
Bilberry
Bilberry is any of several species of low-growing shrubs in the genus Vaccinium , bearing edible berries. The species most often referred to is Vaccinium myrtillus L., but there are several other closely related species....
) with dark-blue berries and are perennial. Species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in the section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as "blueberries" and are native to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
(commercially cultivated highbush blueberries were not introduced into Europe until the 1930s).
They are usually erect but sometimes prostrate
Prostrate shrub
A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just under the ground, rather than being held erect as are the branches of most trees and shrubs....
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s varying in size from 10 centimetres (3.9 in) to 4 metres (157.5 in) tall.
