Vaccinium arboreum
| Vaccinium arboreum | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 16' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Vaccinium arboreum (common name: farkleberry)
Propagation: Seed - sow late winter in a greenhouse in a lime-free potting mix and only just cover the seed[1]. Stored seed might require a period of up to 3 months cold stratification[2]. Another report says that it is best to sow the seed in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe[3]. Once they are about 5cm tall, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August in a frame[1]. Slow and difficult.
Layering in late summer or early autumn[1]. Another report says that spring is the best time to layer[3]. Takes 18 months[1].
Division of suckers in spring or early autumn[2].
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[4][3]. 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[3]. Requires shelter from strong winds[3].
Dislikes root disturbance, plants are best grown in pots until being planted out in their permanent positions[3].
Plants are deciduous when growing in cold climates[4].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].
Range: South-eastern N. America - Virginia to Florida, west to Texas.
Habitat: Moist sandy soils by ponds and streams[5]. Usually found in most shady slightly alkaline soils along stream banks, bluffs, hammocks and in open woods[6].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked. Dry and slightly astringent but with a pleasant flavour[5]. Dry and insipid according to another report[7] whilst another says that it is dry, sweet and mealy[8] and yet another says that it is bitter and inedible[3]. The fruit is about 6mm in diameter[3].
Medicinal: The berries, root-bark and leaves are very astringent and have been used internally in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery etc[9][5][6]. The infusion is valuable in treating sore throats, chronic ophthalmia, leucorrhoea etc[9].
Usage: Said to be an excellent rootstock for 'Rabbiteye' blueberries (V. ashei)[7].
Tannin is obtained from the bark and root[5][8].
Wood - heavy, hard, very close grained. It weighs 48lb per cubic foot. Used for making tool handles and other small articles[5][8].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.