North Carolina State Blue Berry

Blueberry

(Vaccinium corymbosum)

Adopted in 2001.

In 2001, the General Assembly named the blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum, as the official Blue Berry of the state (Session laws, 2001, c. 488).

Strawberries (genus fragaria) are high in Vitamin C and A, and supply 8% of the RDA for Iron. There are only 60 calories in a cup of fresh berries and zero grams of fat. A cup of blueberries (genus vaccinium) supplies 50% of the RDA for Vitamin C, as well as 22% of the fiber recommended for a healthy diet.

North Carolina Legislature Archives

§ 145-18. State fruit and State berries.
(a) The official fruit of the State of North Carolina is the Scuppernong grape (Vitis genus).
(b) The official red berry of the State is the strawberry (Fragaria genus).
(c) The official blue berry of the State is the blueberry (Vaccinium genus). (2001-488, s. 1.)

The session law itself explains how important these two berries are to the agricultural economy of the state. In the year 2000, strawberries brought in over $17,000,000, while the blueberry created over $18,000,000 in revenues. According to the 1997 Census of Agriculture, North Carolina was ranked 8^th in the nation for strawberries harvested, and ranked behind only 4 states in the production of blueberries.

Both berries are grown throughout the state, and consumers can pick their own berries at farms from one end of the North Carolina to the other.

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

Taxonomic Hierarchy
Kingdom	Plantae -- Plants
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
Superdivision	Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass	Dilleniidae –
Order	Ericales –
Family	Ericaceae – Heath family
Genus	Vaccinium
Species	Vaccinium corymbosum

State Fruits

Fruit is a necessary part of any nutritious diet. Fruits are an excellent source of vitamin C and fiber, they contain no cholesterol, and they are low in fat

fruit (frt)
n. pl. fruit or fruits
1.
a. The ripened ovary or ovaries of a seed-bearing plant, together with accessory parts, containing the seeds and occurring in a wide variety of forms.
b. An edible, usually sweet and fleshy form of such a structure.
c. A part or an amount of such a plant product, served as food: fruit for dessert.
2. The fertile, often spore-bearing structure of a plant that does not bear seeds.
3. A plant crop or product: the fruits of the earth.

North Carolina Symbols