Plant Family: Ericaceae
Growth Form: Low shrub less than 1 meter in height that spreads by rhizomes to form extensive colonies.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, elliptic to ovate, 2 – 4 cm long, bright green and smooth above and below, margins with minute, sharp teeth (use a lens).
Bark: Brown and shreddy, new stems green.
Flowers: Milk-white, sometimes tinged with pink, urn-shaped, in clusters in the leaf axils and at the twig tips, May to early July.
Fruits: Green berries that ripen to dark blue, with a heavy bloom, 5 – 8 mm in diameter, sweet and delicious, August to September. Plants in understory shade are poor fruit producers.
Habitat: Fields, woodland clearings, rocky ridges, dry barrens, mountain slopes and summits; regenerates well after fire.
Range: Common throughout New England, ranging north into Canada and west to the Great Lakes.
Key Feature: The short stature and leaf margins with minute, sharp teeth will usually separate Common Lowbush from other Blueberries, but hybrids are common, and the leaf margins may lack teeth.
Comments: Lowbush Blueberry is the blueberry of commerce, with the greatest production in New England coming from Maine. Commercial blueberry barrens are pruned or burned on a regular basis to promote greater fruit production.
