Vaccinium elliottii Chapm.
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Authority
Sargent, Charles S. 1889. Vaccinium hirsutum. Gard. & Forest. 2: 364, 365, fig. 119.
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Family
Ericaceae
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Scientific Name
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Type
Type locality: probably South Caro- lina. Introduced to cultivation at Beltsville, Maryland, in 1940.
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Description
Species Description - Plants crown-forming, or sometimes in much-restricted colonies, 2-4 m. high. Leaves deciduous, usually thin-textured, green and shining; the lower surface non-glandular, glabrous to puberulent, or even pubescent; usually broadly ellip- tic, 0.8-1.5 cm. wide, 1.5-o em. long; the margin serrate, or sometimes entire. Corolla narrowly urceolate, 6-7 mm. long, usually some shade of pink. Fr:uit usually dark, sometimes black and shining, but often dull, and occasionally glaucous, 5-8 mm. in diam., or larger in some forms, the flavor fair to poor.
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Discussion
Cyanococcus elliottii Small, Man. SE. Fl. 1014, 1506. 1933.
Diploid (2n =24).
The hybrids with V. tenellutm are unusually common and the segregates often migrate into areas where the parents are unable to persist (for a more expanded discussion of this item, see Darrow & Camp, 1945) ; such plants have been de- scribed as Cyanococcuts cutthbertii Small [= V. cuthbertii (Small) Uphoff.]. In parts of Florida and Mississippi elliottii x darrowi hybrids are known to be locally common. The segregates and back-crosses of this combination run the whole gamut of expected variation, one extreme being a plant which looks like a coarse form of darrowi, the other extreme being an elliottii-like plant, but with leaves which persist through the winter.25 While the leaves of V. elliottii appear to be basically thin-textured, green and shining, their surfaces non-glandular, the mar- ginis serrate, and while the plants bear black fruit, aberrancies may be noted. These sometimes may be traced to hybridization and gene-exchange of recent origin; or they may be residual, having persisted aiad having been carried through the population of elliottii by means of genle-flow following former and possibly aiacient hybrid combilaations with atrococcutm, caesariense, tenellum, darrowi, aiad vacillans. The source of the more notable aberrancies seem to be the following: a fiae puberulence over the whole leaf-surface- V. atrococcum; stiff pubescence limited to the midvein-V. tenellum; subeoriaeeous and/or subpersistent leaves- V. darrowi; subglaucous leaves and fruit-V. darrowi, V. caesariense, and V. vacillans; narrowly elliptic leaves, below average in length-V. darrowi; nar- rowly elliptic leaves, above average in length--V. atrococcum and V. caesariense; leaves bearing some gland-hairs-V. tenellum; and leaf-margins subserrate to entire-all of these except V. tenellum. It will be apparent that this is only a partial list of the aberrant eharacters found in V. elliottii for such things as height of plant and type of colony, character of the twigs and branches, and shape and size of the flowers, etc., have been omitted, all of which would be of value in a com- plete analysis and assist materially in placing unusual individuals or local com- munities. A complete outline of such aberrancies has not been presented for the reason that it would occupy too much space in an already overlong paper; in the treatment of this species, as in the others, no more can be done than give brief mention of a few of the outstanding forms which are to be found followilng inter- specific gene-exchanges. In addition, V. elliottii at times seems to have been the vehicle for the transmission of genes between two other species. For example: in western Florida, where much of V. elliottii is puberulent (or even pubescent), and where darrowi and atrococcimt appear to be disjunct, the puberulence of some of the material of V. darrowi seems to have been derived by means of hybrid- ization with V. elliottii which, in turn, had received its puberulence by gene ex- change with the pubescent V. atrococcum. Yet, in spite of all the aberrancies noted, throughout much of its range V. elliottii remainas one of our better-marked and more easily distinguished species.
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Distribution
Southeastern Virginia, south to Florida, west to Louisiana and Arkansas. To be expected in Texas. Open flatwoods and ravines, rarely in swampy areas; today common in cleared river bottoms subject to periodic flooding. The plants do not persist under too frequent burning.
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