• Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Vaccinium darrowii

Darrow's blueberry

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Darrow's blueberry

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Vaccinium darrowii

Family:

Ericaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

to 2 ft tall by about 2 ft wide-spreading by rhisomes to form clones typically up to about 50 ft wide.

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white,pink

Fruit Color:

blue,purple,black

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms in early spring. Fruits ripe in late spring.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Low hedge or border plant, specimen plant in a wildflower garden, mass planting.

Considerations:

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Availability:

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Propagation:

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Light:

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Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Somewhat moist, no flooding -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A

Ecology

Wildlife:

Caterpillars, Birds, Mammals

Attracts various pollinators, especially native bees.   Documented bee species include Agapostemon splendens, Augochlorella aurata, A. gratiosa and  Apis mellifera (honeybee) (Deyrup et al. 2002).

Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Moist sites. Flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods.

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Edible fruits.

General Comments:

Leaves are glaucous and appear to be blue-green sometimes with pink-violet overtones.



The range includes the Florida panhandle and much of the penninsula.  Based on BONAP and IRC herbarium specimen maps, it extends north into southern Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.  It is likely absent or of very sparse occurrence in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia, and southeastern Florida.