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Velvet-Leaf Blueberry, Vaccinium myrtilloides Michx.
Ericaceae

Height: A dense shrub up to 40 cm high.

Twigs: Young twigs are green and densely velvety-hairy. Older branches are reddish-brown and warty.

Buds: There are two types of buds: Smaller leaf buds and larger flower buds.

Leaves: Alternate, elliptical, thin, downy-hairy beneath, and sometimes above, 2-5 cm long, the margins entire and finely hairy.

Flowers: Greenish-white or tinged with purple, bell-shaped, 4-6 mm long, and in crowed clusters at the ends of the branches, expanding when the leaves are half grown.

Fruit: Blue berries with a heavy bloom, 7-10 mm in diameter, edible but sour. Ripen in August.

Habitat: Found in moist woods, swamps, and clearings. At least 4 authors have reported this species from Newfoundland and Labrador. Camp (1945) reported this species as occurring "east to Labrador." Fernald (1950) says that it is "local" in Newfoundland. Rouleau (1956) includes it in his checklist for Newfoundland and Labrador. And, Rousseau (1974) says that it has been collected in the drainage basin of Churchill River in central Labrador. Vander Kloet (1977), however, after a survey of herbarium specimens, has concluded that it is absent from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Source: Native Trees and Shrubs
of Newfoundland and Labrador
By A. Glen Ryan

Used with permission from
Parks and Natural Areas Division
Department of Environment and Conservation
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador 1995

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