Vaccinium arboreum

Vaccinium arboreum (sparkleberry or farkleberry) is a species of Vaccinium native to the southeastern and south-central United States.

Description

A shrub or small tree. It has a short trunk. The crown is irregular. The branches are crooked. It grows 7.6 m high. The bark is light reddish brown and thin. It is covered with fine scales. The trunk is 15 cm across. The leaves are small and fall off during the year. The leaves are 1.2-4.5 cm long by 0.6-2.5 cm wide. They are narrowly oval and blunt or rounded at the tip. They may have small teeth. There is a network of fine veins. The leaves are shiny and dark green above and paler underneath. The flowers are 6 mm long and wide. They are bell shaped and have a slightly 5-lobed corolla. The droop on stalks and are in clusters 5-7.5 cm long. The fruit are 6 mm across. They are shiny black berries. They contain 8-10 seeds. They have a thin sweet pulp. The berries are often classed as inedible.

Edible Uses

The fruit can be eaten raw or cooked. Opinions on flavour vary considerably — descriptions range from dry and slightly astringent but pleasant, to dry and insipid, to dry, sweet and mealy, to bitter and inedible. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter.

Traditional Uses

The fruit are dry with little taste. They are sometimes eaten. They are used in pies, jellies and jams.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

The berries, root-bark, and leaves are strongly astringent and have been used internally to treat diarrhoea and dysentery. An infusion is also used for sore throats, chronic ophthalmia, and leucorrhoea.

Known Hazards

Flavor quality is inconsistent across different sources.

Distribution

It is a warm temperate plant. They grow in sandy and rocky dry uplands. It the SE of the USA they grow to 760 m altitude. It suits warmer places and is not fully hardy to frost. It grows in very acidic soils.

Where It Grows

North America, USA,

Cultivation

Requires a moist but freely-draining lime free soil, preferring one that is rich in peat or a light loamy soil with added leaf-mould. Prefers a very acid soil with a pH in the range of 4.5 to 6, plants soon become chlorotic when lime is present. Succeeds in full sun or light shade though it fruits better in a sunny position. Requires shelter from strong winds. Dislikes root disturbance, plants are best grown in pots until being planted out in their permanent positions. Plants are deciduous when growing in cold climates. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.

Propagation

Seed should be sown in late winter in a greenhouse using a lime-free potting mix, barely covered. Stored seed may require up to 3 months of cold stratification. Alternatively, sow seed in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. Once seedlings reach about 5cm tall, prick them out into individual pots and grow on in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out into permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5–8cm with a heel, can be taken in August in a frame, though this is slow and difficult. Layering can be done in late summer or early autumn, or in spring according to some reports, and takes 18 months. Division of suckers can be carried out in spring or early autumn.

Other Uses

This species is said to be an excellent rootstock for Rabbiteye blueberries (V. ashei). Tannin is obtained from the bark and root. The wood is heavy, hard, and very close-grained, weighing 48lb per cubic foot, and is used for making tool handles and other small articles.

Dangerous Lookalikes

This plant can be confused with the following toxic species. Always verify identification carefully before consuming any wild plant.

DEADLY

Deadly Nightshade

Atropa belladonna

Joan Simon from Barcelona, España

Safe

Tree sparkleberry

Vaccinium arboreum

(c) John C., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John C.

Deadly Nightshade: Tall herbaceous plant (1-2m), single shiny black cherry-sized berries, star-shaped calyx, large oval leaves, sweet but dangerous taste.

Tree sparkleberry: Low woody shrub, berries in clusters with crown/remnant calyx ring, sweet taste.

Synonyms

References (7)

• Arbust. Amer. 157. 1785
• Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 96
• Grandtner, M. M., 2008, World Dictionary of Trees. Wood and Forest Science Department. Laval University, Quebec, Qc Canada. (Internet database http://www.wdt.qc.ca)
• Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 891
• Little, E.L., 1980, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Alfred A. Knopf. p 629

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