Blueberries

Three types are grown commercially. Lowbush blueberries, Vaccinium angustifolium, are native to the northeastern United States. The plants spread by underground stems and grow only about a foot high; they are small, sweet, and often powdery blue. The bulk of the commercial crop is destined for canning and pie fillings. These blueberries are harvested mostly from tamed wild stands. Highbush blueberries, V. corymbosum, which are native to the East Coast, grow as six- to ten-foot-high bushes. So-called southern highbush blueberries are adapted to areas with mild winters and provide the earliest harvests. The latest-ripening blueberries, rabbit eyes (V. asheii), are native to the Southeast and are borne on fifteen-foot-tall bushes.