Herb: Low Sweet Blueberry


Latin name: Vaccinium angustifolium


Synonyms: Vaccinium lamarckii, Vaccinium pennsylvanicum angustifolium, Vaccinium pensylvanicum


Family: Ericaceae (Heath Family)



Medicinal use of Low Sweet Blueberry:

A tea made from the leaves has been used as a blood purifier and in the treatment of infant's colic. It has also been used to induce labour and as a tonic after a miscarriage.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
20 cm
(7 3/4 inch)

Flowering:
May to
June

Habitat of the herb:

Dry open barrens, peats and rocks.

Edible parts of Low Sweet Blueberry:

Fruit - raw, cooked or used in preserves etc. A very sweet pleasant flavour with a slight taste of honey. Largely grown for the canning industry, it is considered to be the best of the lowbush type blueberries. The fruit can be dried and used like raisins. The fruit is about 12mm in diameter. This is the earliest commercially grown blueberry to ripen. A tea is made from the leaves and dried fruits.

Propagation of the herb:

Seed - sow late winter in a greenhouse in a lime-free potting mix and only just cover the seed. Stored seed might require a period of up to 3 months cold stratification. Another report says that it is best to sow the seed in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. 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. Slow and difficult. Layering in late summer or early autumn. Another report says that spring is the best time to layer. Takes 18 months. Division of suckers in spring or early autumn.

Cultivation of Low Sweet Blueberry:

Dry open barrens, peats and rocks.

Known hazards of Vaccinium angustifolium:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.