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Blueberries are in the Vaccinium genus, and there are numerous types depending on where you live and what are grown commercially locally. Below are the common ones that grow east of the Rockies.

There are others in this family, the list I provide is not complete. Here are places to start for further information:

• Vaccinium genus.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Blueberries are nice to find in the wild, as I've read they are a crop that has a fair bit of chemicals used when grown commercially. When you buy ones at the store that are called Wild Blueberries, that doesn't mean picked by hand from non-cultivated plants. It is a reference that the Blueberries came from a Lowbush variety, and could have been grown commercially with chemicals. If you want chemical free Blueberries, you are going to have to gather them yourself, or buy ones certified as "organic". There are two basic groups of Blueberries, the Highbush which are the most common commercially grown types, and the Lowbush type which are sold as Wild.

They prefer an acidic soil. If you live in an area that is known to have acidic soil, you should have no trouble finding some in a wooded area or in open fields. If you live in an area that has alkaline soil, I doubt you will have much luck.

When I lived in Central Ontario, my property was on marble bedrock close to the surface which made for alkaline soil. There were no blueberries. A couple of miles away there was mainly granite bedrock with Spruce, Fir and Pine trees, which generally makes for acidic soil, and there were blueberries all over where there had been clearing from logging.

So how do you know where to look? Here are a few hints to get started by determining whether or not the soil is acidic:

• If you live in a rocky area where there are mainly conifer trees, you probably have acidic soil and should find them.
• If you live in a rocky area where the rocks are granite, basalt or quartz and there is a lot of marshy areas around, you probably have acidic soil and should find them.
• If you live in an area where the rocks are limestone, chalk or marble, you probably have alkaline soil and probably won't find them.
• If where you live has lots of large White Cedar trees, you probably have alkaline soil, although White Cedar will grow with other conifers in acidic soil, they usually don't predominate in these conditions.
• If you live where the soil is a deep, heavy clay, most likely you have neutral to alkaline soil and probably won't find Blueberries.
• If you live where the soil is pure sand, it could be either. If the trees are mainly conifers, most likely it is acidic. If it is dominated by large White Cedar or deciduous trees, most likely neutral to alkaline.
• If you live in an area where there are endless fields of corn and soy, you have neutral to alkaline soil, and will have little luck finding wild Blueberries.
• If you live in a forested area where there are forest fires regularly, you most likely will find Blueberries.

You can also ask at a local garden center or better yet a tree or plant nursery. They will know, as plants they sell will do better in one or the other soil types.

Blueberries are great to eat raw, cooked or in baked foods. They freeze well. Not much I can add on the subject other than if you buy them fresh or frozen, give them a good wash under strong flowing water before using.

Growing this plant in your home garden:

If you have acidic soil where you live, you should have no problem growing them at home. Remember: they attract bears, so keep that in mind if deciding whether you want to grow them if you live in bear country. If you don't have acidic soil where you live, see if a local nursery has the alkaline soil Blueberry I've heard about (but never found), or if you really want to grow them, ask at the nursery how to make the soil where you plant them acidic - it can be done on a small scale. Usually it involves adding a lot of conifer needles to the soil, digging it in, and adding elemental sulphur regularly.

They are not hard to grown in pots if you get the correct variety. Just use an acidic soil mix (ask where you buy bags of soil) and use an acidifying fertilizer. Most of these fertilizers have elemental sulphur in them, and the Blueberries should do well. When you buy them, ask for a variety that will do well for container growing. Never put lime on soil Blueberries are grown in.

For detailed growing instructions, go to my Wild Foods Home Garden website Blueberry page.

Recipe search on the web here (Google search) and here (Bing search).

Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium).

• Plant Size: Shrub, usually 30 cm (12 inches) high, although can be almost double that occasionally. Tends to stay low and spread horizontally.
• Duration: Can live and produce berries for many years
• Leaf Shape: Simple (not compound), Elliptical
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: 20-40 mm (3/4 to 1 3/5 inches) long 6-20 mm (1/4 to 3/4 inch) wide
• Leaf Margin: Very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: Leaves have very short stems.
• Flowers: 6 mm (1/4 inch) long lantern shaped white or pinkish-white flower that hangs down from its stem.
• Fruit: Small, sweet. Colour is dark blue to blue-black
• Bark: Fresh growth twigs are green, older twigs are reddish-brown, bark on mature stems is rough, woody and sometimes coming off in shreds.
• Habitat: Prefers sandy soil that is mildly to very acidic. Common in open woods, but not in deep shade. Takes advantage of fires to colonize openings where woods were burned. Associated with conifer trees.

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Northern Blueberry (Vaccinium boreale).

• Plant Size: Very low - 10 cm (4 inches) or less high
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce berries for years.
• Leaf Shape: Elliptic.
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: leaves 8-21 mm (1/3 to 4/5 inch) long and 2-6 mm (1/10 to 1/4 inch) wide
• Leaf Margin: Very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: light green, often with a red tinted edges
• Flowers: White to pinkish white. Lantern shaped, hanging downward from stem. 3-4 mm long. Flowers appear 10-20 days earlier than the Lowbush Blueberry.
• Fruit: 3-5 mm diameter
• Bark: Even on mature stems the bark is smooth. Twigs in winter are red to brown. Fresh growth twigs are green with red patches or spots in summer (often the red is at the nodes).
• Habitat: Exposed, rocky areas, alpine meadows, coastal areas.

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

New Jersey Blueberry (Vaccinium caesariense).

• Plant Size: Up to 1.5 meters (5 feet) high
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce berries for years
• Leaf Shape: Elliptic to Ovate
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: 30-50 mm (1 1/5 to 2 inches) long, 15-20 mm (3/5 to 4/5 inch) wide
• Leaf Margin: very, very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge), appearing as Entire (smooth edged) without a careful, up close look
• Leaf Notes: Sometimes the leaves are light green that blush red near the margins - the closer to the margin, the more red. Sometimes they will be green with light blotching of red.
• Flowers: White, to a clear or translucent white
• Fruit: The Blueberry is about 8 mm (1/3 inch) in diameter.
• Bark: twigs have a reddish hue usually, but can be green to almost yellowish.
• Habitat: Moist, but well drained acidic soil - does not tolerate lime in soil or limestone. Likes peat in soil. Prefers full sun, but can tolerate partial shade, but with less fruiting.

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Northern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum). Has other common names such as: Blue Huckleberry, Swamp Huckleberry, Swamp Blueberry.

• Plant Size: 2-4 meters (6 to 12 feet) tall. Often forms dense areas.
• Duration: Deciduous Shrub to small tree that can live and produce fruit for many years.
• Leaf Shape: Elliptical
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: Up to 6 cm (2 1/2 inches) long
• Leaf Margin: Entire (smooth edged) to very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: Dark glossy green, In autumn, vibrant orange, red, purple and yellow. One bush can have a mixture of fall leaf colors. Often, when green, the leaf is paler below than on the top side.
• Flowers: Lantern or bell shaped, white to light pink, 8 mm (1/3 inch) long
• Fruit: Ripe mid to late summer, 8 mm (1/3 inch) diameter, dark blue
• Bark: On older trunks, grey-brown to reddish-brown, shreddy. Twigs are thin, green and red and have a zig-zag growth pattern.
• Habitat: Likes quite acidic soil, so not to be found associated with limestone rocks. Can be in dry to wet areas, but seems more common on damp sites near wetlands. Be careful, as Poison Ivy, Western Poison Ivy likes the same damp areas as this shrub. Can withstand full sun, but does best in open, slightly shaded areas that are damp.

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Southern Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii). Other names include: Scrub Blueberry, Highbush Blueberry, Darrow's Blueberry.

• Plant Size: 30-120 cm (1 to 4 feet) tall
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce fruit for years
• Leaf Shape: Ovate to Elliptic
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: 10-15 mm (2/5 to 3/5 inch) long
• Leaf Margin: Entire (smooth edged)
• Leaf Notes: Different cultivars have different leaf colors. Some hybrids have dark green leaves, but wild ones tend to have light green leaves with the very upper ones having a reddish or pink tint.
• Flowers: Flowers in March to April. White to light pink. 4-8 mm long
• Fruit: Blue-black color. 4-6 mm diameter.
• Bark: Branches are reddish, except for the new growth which is green
• Habitat: Open Pine forests in Southeastern USA. Slightly acidic soils. Partial shade to full sun. Prefers sandy soils. Moist to dry soils.

• Pictures on the web here. (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Elliott's Blueberry (Vaccinium elliottii). This variety is known to have more sour tasting fruit that other Blueberry species, but still quite edible, and very good for cooking with. Each shrub can produce a large crop of fruit.

• Plant Size: 2-4 meters (6 to 13 feet) tall
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce fruit for many years
• Leaf Shape: Ovate to Elliptic
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: 15-30 mm (3/5 to 1 1/5 inches) long
• Leaf Margin: Very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Flowers: Light pink, lantern or bell-shaped, 6-8 mm long
• Fruit: 5-8 mm diameter, two variants: shiny blue-black (tart tasting), the other blue-black with white bloom (sweeter taste)
• Bark: New growth green, older branches green and reddish brown.
• Habitat: Dry sandy upland forest areas to flood prone areas. Likes acidic to very acidic soils. Full sun to part shade.

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Canadian Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides). Also known as the Common Blueberry, Velvetleaf Blueberry, Sourtop Blueberry, Velvetleaf Huckleberry. This is the sweetest tasting of the Blueberries.

• Plant Size: To 50 cm (20 inches) tall, low and spreading, forms thickets
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce fruit for many years
• Leaf Shape: Ovate to Elliptic
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: 10-40 mm (2/5 to 1 3/5 inches) long, 5-15 mm (1/5 to 3/5 inch) wide
• Leaf Margin: Entire (smooth edged)
• Leaf Notes: Bright green and hairy above, bottom of leaf: lighter green with velvety hairs. Leaves can have red dots or blotches.
• Flowers: White, lantern or bell-shaped, 5 mm long
• Fruit: Smaller than most other Blueberries, bright blue to dark blue, sweet tasting
• Bark: Green to reddish even on new growth. Young stems have dense, stiff hairs that are whitish in color.
• Habitat: From dry to wet, sandy to rocky acidic soils. Full sun to partial shade. A colonizer of cleared lands or lands after a forest fire. It is fire tolerant, and will come back with new growth from roots even if above ground part of shrub is burned

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Hillside Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum). Known also as the Blue Ridge blueberry.

• Plant Size: Highly variable in height. Can be from 10 to 100 cm, (4 to 40 inches) but usually in the lower to middle of that range. This plant can form clonal colonies, that is, an area of this plant that all sprouted from the roots of one parent shrub, so that all are basically the same plant or clones.
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce fruit for many years.
• Leaf Shape: Ovate
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: 2-6 cm (4/5 to 2 1/3 inches) long
• Leaf Margin: Entire (smooth edged) or very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge) near the tip of the leaf
• Leaf Notes: In summer: green to yellowish green or bluish green, red in fall
• Flowers: Lantern or Bell shaped, white, light pink or light green, racemes of up to 11 flowers. 5-10 mm long
• Fruit: 12 mm diameter, blue to blackish in color, rarely white (use extreme caution if you think you have found a white Blueberry - there are very dangerous white berries in racemes - i.e.; Poison Ivy, Western Poison Ivy, Poison Sumac, White Baneberry or Doll's-eyes - don't even touch them unless you are 100% sure they are white Blueberries)
• Bark: Red to greenish brown on stems, new growth can be grey, green, reddish or yellowish.
• Habitat: Highly variable - associated with both hardwoods like Oak and Maple, as well as conifers. Dry areas mainly, but can be found near to wetlands with Silver Maple. Likes humid areas. Sandy, clay or rocky soils. Prefers acidic soil with partial shade/sun.

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Rabbit-eye Blueberry or Southern Black Blueberry (Vaccinium virgatum). Known also as the Smallflower blueberry.

• Plant Size: 1-2 meters (3 to 6 feet) tall
• Duration: Shrub that can live and produce fruit for many years
• Leaf Shape: Elliptic
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Alternate
• Leaf Size: To 7.5 cm (3 inches) long
• Leaf Margin: Entire (smooth edged), although under magnification you can see it is very, very finely Serrated (saw toothed edge)
• Leaf Notes: In spring the leaves can be reddish-gold, then turning dark green as the season matures
• Flowers: The lantern, or bell shaped flowers are white and about 5 mm long
• Fruit: Dark blue to black, about 5 mm diameter, with waxy bloom
• Habitat: Southeastern USA, wide range of acidic soil conditions from dry to wet land, sun to part shade

• Pictures on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.

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