The genus was first described scientifically by
Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It is not the same word as
Vaccinum, which means "of or pertaining to
cows". The
taxonomy of the genus is complex and still under investigation. Genetic analyses indicate that the genus
Vaccinium is not
monophyletic. A number of the Asian species are more closely related to
Agapetes than to other
Vaccinium species. A second group includes most of
Orthaea and
Notopora, at least some of
Gaylussacia (huckleberry), and a number of species from
Vaccinium, such as
V. crassifolium.
Subgenera '', the common cranberry, one kind of cranberry A classification predating
molecular phylogeny divides
Vaccinium into subgenera and several sections: ;Subgenus
Oxycoccus: The
cranberries, with slender, trailing, wiry non-woody shoots and strongly reflexed flower petals. Some botanists treat
Oxycoccus as a distinct genus. • Sect.
Oxycoccus •
Vaccinium macrocarpon – American cranberry •
Vaccinium oxycoccos – common cranberry •
Vaccinium microcarpum – small bog cranberry • Sect.
Oxycoccoides •
Vaccinium erythrocarpum – southern mountain cranberry •
Vaccinium japonicum – mountain blueberry ;Subgenus
Vaccinium: All the other species, with thicker, upright woody shoots and bell-shaped flowers. • Sect.
Batodendron •
Vaccinium arboreum – sparkleberry •
Vaccinium crassifolium – creeping blueberry • Sect.
Brachyceratium •
Vaccinium dependens • Sect.
Bracteata •
Vaccinium acrobracteatum •
Vaccinium barandanum •
Vaccinium bracteatum •
Vaccinium coriaceum •
Vaccinium cornigerum •
Vaccinium cruentum •
Vaccinium hooglandii •
Vaccinium horizontale •
Vaccinium laurifolium •
Vaccinium lucidum •
Vaccinium myrtoides •
Vaccinium phillyreoides •
Vaccinium reticulatovenosum •
Vaccinium sparsum •
Vaccinium varingifolium • Sect.
Ciliata •
Vaccinium ciliatum •
Vaccinium oldhamii - Japanese blueberry • Sect.
Cinctosandra •
Vaccinium exul • Sect.
Conchophyllum •
Vaccinium corymbodendron •
Vaccinium delavayi •
Vaccinium emarginatum •
Vaccinium griffithianum •
Vaccinium moupinense – Himalayan blueberry •
Vaccinium neilgherrense •
Vaccinium nummularia •
Vaccinium retusum • Sect.
Cyanococcus – typical North American
blueberries •
Vaccinium angustifolium – lowbush blueberry - also known as
Vaccinium stenophyllum •
Vaccinium boreale – northern blueberry •
Vaccinium caesariense – New Jersey blueberry •
Vaccinium corymbosum – highbush blueberry •
Vaccinium darrowii – evergreen blueberry •
Vaccinium elliottii – Elliott's blueberry •
Vaccinium formosum •
Vaccinium fuscatum – black highbush blueberry; syn.
V. atrococcum •
Vaccinium hirsutum •
Vaccinium myrsinites – evergreen blueberry •
Vaccinium myrtilloides – Canadian blueberry •
Vaccinium pallidum Ait. – dryland blueberry; syn.
V. vacillans Torr. •
Vaccinium simulatum •
Vaccinium tenellum •
Vaccinium virgatum – rabbiteye blueberry; syn.
V. ashei • Sect.
Eococcus •
Vaccinium fragile • Sect.
Epigynium •
Vaccinium vacciniaceum • Sect.
Galeopetalum •
Vaccinium chunii •
Vaccinium dunalianum •
Vaccinium glaucoalbum •
Vaccinium sikkimense (may not be treated as a separate species from
V. glaucoalbum) •
Vaccinium urceolatum • Sect.
Hemimyrtillus •
Vaccinium arctostaphylos •
Vaccinium cylindraceum •
Vaccinium hirtum •
Vaccinium padifolium – Madeira blueberry •
Vaccinium smallii • Sect.
Koreanum •
Vaccinium koreanum – Korean blueberry • Sect.
Myrtillus (including sect.
Macropelma) – bilberries and relatives. Monophyly of this section has been confirmed by matK and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequence data.) • Sect.
Pyxothamnus •
Vaccinium chihuahuense •
Vaccinium confertum •
Vaccinium consanguineum •
Vaccinium corymbodendron •
Vaccinium floribundum •
Vaccinium meridionale •
Vaccinium ovatum Pursh – California huckleberry (or evergreen huckleberry) (coastal western North America). First collected and described for western science by Meriwether Lewis. • Sect.
Vaccinium •
Vaccinium uliginosum L. – northern (or bog) bilberry (or blueberry); syn.
V. occidentale (northern North America and Eurasia) • Sect.
Vitis-idaea •
Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. – partridgeberry, cowberry, redberry, red whortleberry, or lingonberry (northern North America and Eurasia) ==Distribution and habitat==