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bilberry Ericaceae Vaccinium myrtillus L. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: VAMY2
Leaf: Alternate, simple, elliptical to ovate, to 1 1/2 inch long, margins serrate, green above and paler beneath.
Flower: Species is monoecious; small (1/4 inch), solitary, pink, bell-shaped.
Fruit: Very small (1/4 inch), blue-black berries with reddish flesh, edible.
Twig: Slender, zigzag and sharply angled, green, mostly hairless; buds small and pointed.
Bark: Initially green, becoming reddish brown, smooth.
Form: Low growing, highly branched (may resemble a broom) deciduous shrub usually under 1 foot tall; forms rhizomatous thickets.
 Looks like: dwarf bilberry - big huckleberry - velvet-leaf blueberry - ovalleaf huckleberry

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Additional Range Information: Vaccinium myrtillus is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material © 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information