Maine State Berry

Wild Blueberry

(Vaccinium angustifolium, aiton)

Adopted in 1991.

The Wild Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, aiton, was adopted as Maine's state berry in 1991.

Maine's 60,000 acres of Wild Blueberries grow naturally in fields and barrens that stretch from Down east to the state's southwest corner. Adapted to Maine's naturally acid, low fertility soils and challenging winters, Wild Blueberries are a low input crop requiring minimal management. The berries are grown on a two-year cycle — each year, half of a grower's land is managed to encourage vegetative growth and the other half is prepared for a Wild Blueberry harvest in August. After the harvest the plants are pruned to the ground by mowing or burning.

Harvested from late July to early September in Maine. Harvesting is still mainly by hand rake- a close-tined special RAKE invented about 112 years ago by a local Downeaster, Abijah Tabbutt and modified in minor variations since then. The secretis in the wielding of the rake - a special pushing and twisting motion of the wrists designed to tease the ripe berries from their grasp of the vine without crushing. Hand-raking is increasingly being replaced by mechanized harvesting. Although the technology is getting very good, hand-raking will always have its place - due in large part to the hilly and rocky terrain that a lot of wild blueberry patches are found on.

Habit and Form

• a deciduous, twiggy shrub
• open, leggy crown
• 6" to 2' tall
• 2' wide
• medium texture
• moderate growth rate

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous shape
• lanceolate leaf shape
• 0.33" to .75" long
• serrulate leaf margins
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• reddish, bronze fall color
• showy

Flowers

• white flowers
• 0.25" diameter
• blooms in May
• showy

Fruit

• bluish-black fruit
• sweet and edible
• up to 0.5" across
• matures in mid- to late-summer