Vaccinium elliottii (Elliott’s Blueberry)

March 2^nd – 14^th. Elliott’s Blueberry is the earliest of the Vaccinium species to bloom, and fruit in Fort Yargo State Park.

Plants flower before they leaf out. I photographed these flowers on March 2^nd, and returned on March 14^th to photograph the plant.

This is a particularly large bush, probably 6-to-7 feet tall and 10-to-12 feet in diameter. It’s growing in a shaded location at the water’s edge in an inlet on the reservoir. (These photographs were taken when the water level had been lowered for maintenance/construction activities.)

These blueberries ripen relatively quickly and are quite tasty. The birds, however, devour them as soon as they ripen. 

Elliott’s Blueberry is distributed in the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to Texas.

References: 

- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Vaccinium elliottii 

- USDA Plant Database:* Vaccinium elliottii (Elliott’s Blueberry) 

- US Wildflowers: Vaccinium elliottii

*USDA Plant Database is currently experiencing some difficulty in displaying distribution maps. I’ve provided a link to the page in the hope that you may be able to see the maps. Alternatively, an embedded distribution map is available at the US Wildflowers site.