| Deerberry is one of our most common shrubs, common throughout North Carolina, and with several varieties that have not yet been completely sorted out. The white flowers, produced from April to June, are campanulate (bell-shaped), more open than those of other blueberries. The stamens are prominent, as indicated by the name stamineum. Crowder's Mountain State Park, Gaston Co., NC 4/16/2011.
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| Crowder's Mountain State Park, Gaston Co., NC 4/16/2011.
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| Like other blueberries, the leaves are undistinguished - alternate, simple, and untoothed. This is a variable species — a number of varieties have been named and more are yet to be named. Hanging Rock State Park, Stokes Co., NC 6/14/09.
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| Leaf undersides are glaucous in two of the varieties of Deerberry: var. caesium of the Coastal Plain and this unnamed variety of the Mountains and Piedmont. The other varieties have green undersides. Stokes Co., NC 6/14/09.
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| The fruits are green when ripe, not black or blue, and not tasty — suitable only for deer to eat, hence the name. Stokes Co., NC 6/14/09.
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| The berries are slighty glaucous. Stokes Co., NC 6/14/09.
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| Orange Co., NC 7/7/2003.
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| This Deerberry in the southern Appalachian Mountains it quite different, with very hairy leaves and stems. This may be Vaccinium stamineum var. sericeum (C. Mohr) D.B. Ward, Southern Deerberry. Alleghany Co., NC 5/27/07.
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| Alleghany Co., NC 5/27/07.
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| Alleghany Co., NC 5/27/07.
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| Alleghany Co., NC 5/27/07.
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| Alleghany Co., NC 5/27/07.
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| Durham Co., NC 5/2/03.
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| Orange Co., NC 7/7/2003.
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| Carroll Co., VA 7/3/06.
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| Clay Co., NC 5/13/06.
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| Emerging flowers. Clay Co., NC 5/13/06.
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| Bark detail. Clay Co., NC 5/13/06.
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| Crowder's Mountain State Park, Gaston Co., NC 4/16/2011.
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More information:
Florida Forest Plants
USDA PLANTS
Virginia Tech Dendrology
Recommended Tree, Shrub, and Woody Vine Identification Guides
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