Early Lowbush Blueberry
Vaccinium pallidum
Click or tap the section titles below to learn more about this species!
CLASSIFICATION: What’s in a name?
Scientific Name: Vaccinium pallidum. Although the genus name is thought to be derived from ancient Latin, further information about the name appears to have been lost over time.1 The species name, pallidum, is Latin meaning pale.2
Common Name: Early Lowbush Blueberry. There are 17 species of Vaccinium in Virginia! The common name helps distinguish it from some of the other blueberries – it is not as tall as the highbush blueberry plants and may have fruit ready earlier. Other common names such as dryland blueberry and hillside blueberry give hints as to where it grows well. Older names include bilberry and whortleberry.4,5,6,9
Family: Ericaceae (Heath Family). With a nearly worldwide distribution, the heath family has over 4000 species. The family encompasses everything from herbs to shrubs to trees which are all perennial plants and most often are found growing in acidic soils. With so many species, there is a lot of variation in the structure of the plants, but many have leaves which are alternate, undivided, and often small and leathery. The flower parts (petals, sepals, and stamens) are often in multiples of 4 or 5. Fruits can be berries, capsules (fruits that dry out and split open), or drupes (fleshy with one large seed). Can you guess any other species in this family? There are many that you may be familiar with – blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) have tasty fruits. There are many other native plants in this family which have been cultivated as ornamental plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, and mountain laurel.2,3
IDENTIFICATION: What does it look like?
Average Height: up to 3’
Description: A perennial, deciduous plant that often spreads through horizontal shoots to create a colony. Older stems may become reddish to yellowish brown, while newer stems are green to yellowish green with small warts. The medium to yellow green, roughly oval leaves measure 1-2” long and ½-1” wide and alternate along the stem. The edges of the leaves are smooth or finely toothed. The upper and lower sides of the leaf are generally hairless while the underside is glaucous (coated by waxy, whitish film – similar to the skin of a plum). The urn-shaped flowers have 5 lobes, measure about ⅓” long and vary in color from white to pink to red. The fruits are round berries measuring ¼” across and turn from green to dark blue. Have you ever noticed a whitish coating on blueberries? They too are glaucous!4,5,6,7,8
Bloom time: Apr – May
Notes: It’s not uncommon for different species of blueberries to hybridize with each other!4
LOCATION: Where is it at home?
Range: Found in every county in Virginia, early lowbush blueberry is common throughout the state.9 Grows from Maine west to Wisconsin and as far south as Louisiana east to Georgia. Also found in Ontario, Kansas, and Oklahoma.10,11
Geology/Soil: Prefers dry to very dry, acidic soils that may be somewhat rocky or sandy.6,9
Habitat: Most strongly associated with dry, acidic forests, woodlands, clearings, barrens or outcrops. Often found growing on slopes. Frequently grows in forest dominated by oaks with other species from the heath family.4,5,6,7,9
CONNECTIONS: What are its relationships to other plants, animals, and humans?
Flora associations: Typically found with other plants that thrive on acidic soils. Trees may include many species of oaks (Quercus spp.) such as white oak (Q. alba), scarlet oak (Q. coccinea), chestnut oak (Q. montana), black oak (Q. velutina) and northern red oak (Q. rubra) plus hickories (Carya spp.), pines (Pinus spp.), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), and red maple (Acer rubrum). Shrubs and herbaceous plants may include deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum), maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium), wild azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides), spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), Solomon’s-seal (Polygonatum biflorum var. biflorum), eastern Solomon’s-plume (Maianthemum racemosum), and whorled loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia).13,14
Fauna associations: The cranberry oil bee (Melitta americana) is an important pollinator of many Vaccinium species as it primarily gets nectar and pollen from these species. Bumblebees (Bombus spp.), Andrenid bees, and honeybees may also contribute to pollinating the flowers of Vaccinium pallidum. Caterpillars of many species of moths and butterflies feed on parts of the plant including the brown elfin butterfly (Callophrys augustinus), slender clearwing moth (Hemaris gracilis), a twirler moth (Dichomeris vacciniella), the lacuna moth (Olethreutes lacunanum) and Drexel’s datana moth (Datana drexelii). Many other types of insects also eat parts of blueberry plants such as leafhoppers, fruitflies, grasshoppers, aphids, and more! Have you ever seen a strange growth on the stems of a blueberry plant? The larvae of the blueberry stem gall wasp (Hemadas nubilipennis) develop inside these galls.7,12,16
The fruits attract many visitors! A wide variety of birds (thrushes, catbirds, robins, and turkeys) and mammals (American black bear, foxes, squirrels, and mice) all enjoy the tasty berries.7
Human associations: People past and present have enjoyed the tasty, edible fruit of Vaccinium pallidum which can be dried, frozen, eaten raw, made into jam or sauce, or used in breads, pies, and cobblers. Yum! Over time, people have found a few medicinal uses for Vaccinium species as well. These include infusions of leaves to treat colic, purify the blood, or help with childbirth.15
We want these plants to thrive and for everyone who gets to visit the park to enjoy them, so remember – don’t pick flowers or other parts of the plant!!
Bibliography & Definitions
1 “Vaccinium “Duke” – Plant Finder.” Missouribotanicalgarden.org, 2025, www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=266584&isprofile=0&pt=4. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
2 “Sedum Pallidum Var. Bithynicum – Plant Finder.” Missouribotanicalgarden.org, 2025, www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=260677&isprofile=0&gen=Sedum. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
3 “Ericaceae – FNA.” Floranorthamerica.org, floranorthamerica.org/Ericaceae. Accessed 15 July 2024.
4 Weakley, A.S., J.C. Ludwig, and J.F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project, Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press, pp. 528-548.
5 “Vaccinium Pallidum (Bilberry, Blue Ridge Blueberry, Dryland Blueberry, Hillside Blueberry, Lowbush Blueberry, Whortleberry) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.” Plants.ces.ncsu.edu, plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/vaccinium-pallidum/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
6 “Vascular Plants of North Carolina – Vaccinium Pallidum.” Ncparks.gov, 2019, auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/flora/plant_list.php. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
7 “Hillside Blueberry (Vaccinium Pallidum).” Illinoiswildflowers.info, 2025, www.illinoiswildflowers.info/savanna/plants/hs_blueberry.htm. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
8 “Virginia Tech Dendrology Fact Sheet.” Vt.edu, 2021, dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=92. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
9 “Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora | Vaccinium Pallidum Ait.” Vaplantatlas.org, 2025, www.vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=plant&plant=1883&search=Search. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
10 “NatureServe Explorer 2.0.” Natureserve.org, 2025, explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136110/Vaccinium_pallidum. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
11 “2014 BONAP Maps by States.” Bonap.net, 14 Dec. 2014, bonap.net/FieldMaps/Home/SingleMap?taxonId=9837&mapType=County. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
12 “Search – Vaccinium pallidum.” Bugguide.net, 2024, bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=vaccinium+pallidum&search=Search. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
13 “Acidic Oak – Hickory Forests.” Virginia.gov, 2021, www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/nctc4. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
14 “Oak / Heath Forests.” Www.dcr.virginia.gov, 4 Mar. 2021, www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/nctc6. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
15 “BRIT – Native American Ethnobotany Database.” Brit.org, 2025, naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=vaccinium&page=11. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
16 Komondy, Lidia, and Cameron Jack. “Melitta Americana Smith.” Entnemdept.ufl.edu, June 2021, entnemdept.ufl.edu/Creatures/MISC/BEES/Melitta_americana.htm. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Definitions:
Glaucous: Covered by a waxy, whitish coating.
Sepal: A leaf-like structure on the outer part of the flower.
Stamen: The male reproductive part of a flower, composed of an anther which bears pollen attached to the tip of a long, thin stalk called a filament.