Farkleberry

Batodendron arboreum (Marshall) Nuttall; Vaccinium arboreum var. glaucescens (Greene) Sargent

Shrubs or trees, trunks to 35 cm diam. at breast height; twigs of current season reddish green, glabrous, glaucous, or glandular-hairy, not verrucose. Leaf blades pale green, glaucous, obovate to oblong, 22-40 × 12-20 mm, coriaceous, surfaces glabrous or glandular-hairy abaxially, glabrous and lustrous adaxially. Inflorescence bracts ± persistent. Pedicels slender, 0.8-1.2 cm. Flowers: calyx 21-29 × 7-13 mm; corolla white, 3-5 mm; filaments ciliate. Berries shiny black, 7-9 mm diam. 2n = 24.

Flowering spring. Sandy or rocky habitats, usually xeric woodlands; 0-800 m; Ala., Ark., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kans., Ky., La., Miss., Mo., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va.

Vaccinium arboreum is rare and local in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Virginia.