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Blueberry
refers to plants of the genus Vaccinium, which also includes
cranberries, bilberries (also called blueberry), and many
wild shrubs producing edible, round, blue berries (botanically
false berries) with flared "crowns" at the end.
The fruit are first white, then reddish-purple, and turn
blue on ripening; the fruit are also called blueberries,
and have a sweet taste. Blueberries are used in jellies,
jams, pies, and many other snacks and delicacies. Blueberries
are both cultivated and picked wild. In North America,
the most common cultivated species is V. corymbosum, the
Northern Highbush Blueberry. Hybrids of this with other
Vaccinium species, are adapted to southern US climates
and are known collectively as Southern Highbush Blueberries. |
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Wild
blueberries, smaller and much more expensive than cultivated
ones, are prized for their intense flavour and colour.
The Lowbush Blueberry, V. angustifolium, is found from
Newfoundland westward and southward to Michigan and West
Virginia. In some areas it produces natural blueberry
barrens, where it is practically the only species covering
large areas. Several First Nations communities in Ontario
are involved in harvesting wild blueberries. In the US,
Maine is the largest producer of Lowbush Blueberries.
The Maine crop requires about 50,000 beehives for pollination,
with most of the hives being trucked in from other states
for that purpose. Michigan, New York, New Jersey and North
Carolina are large producers of Highbush Blueberries.
Blueberry flowersRabbiteye, V. ashei, is a southern type
of blueberry produced from the Carolinas to the Gulf Coast
states. |
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