Vaccinium floribundum

Vaccinium floribundum, commonly known as mortiño or Andean blueberry, is a slender shrub that grows in the northern Andes in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela at elevations from 1,800 to 3,800 metres (5,900 to 12,500 ft). It can reach 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) high or it can be dwarf and prostrate. The plant produces an edible fruit, a round berry that is bluish black and glaucous, that is collected and eaten raw and used in preserves. It is sold at some markets and is used for a dish celebrating the Day of the Dead along with spices and other chopped fruits.[2]

Vaccinium floribundum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Vaccinium
Species:
V. floribundum
Binomial name
Vaccinium floribundum
Kunth 1819
Synonyms[1]
Synonymy
  • Epigynium floribundum Klotzsch
  • Metagonia marginata (Dunal) Nutt.
  • Vaccinium crenulatum Dunal
  • Vaccinium dasygynum S.F. Blake
  • Vaccinium leiandrum S.F.Blake
  • Vaccinium marginatum Dunal
  • Vaccinium moritzianum Klotzsch
  • Vaccinium mortinia Benth.
  • Vaccinium polystachyum Benth.
  • Vaccinium ramosissimum Dunal
  • Vaccinium tatei Rusby
  • Vaccinium thymifolium Klotzsch

References
  1. The Plant List, Vaccinium floribundum Kunth
  2. "Berries." Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1989.

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