Sparkleberry
Vaccinium arboreum
Summary 3
Vaccinium arboreum (Sparkleberry or Farkleberry) is a species of Vaccinium native to the southeastern United States, from southern Virginia west to southeastern Nebraska, south to Florida and eastern Texas, and north to Illinois.
Common names 4
More info for the term: tree
tree sparkleberry
sparkleberry
sparkle-berry
tree huckleberry
huckleberry
winter huckleberry
farkleberry
Missouri farkleberry
whortleberry
gooseberry
Cover value 5
More info for the term: tree
Stephens [38] reported that most birds rarely nest in tree sparkleberry
and typically seek out denser vegetation. However, Thackston and others
[42] noted that shrubby thickets of tree sparkleberry form favored
activity centers for transplanted ruffed grouse in northern Georgia.
Faunal associations 6
The flowers are cross-pollinated primarily by various bees seeking nectar and pollen. Insects that feed on the foliage, wood, plant juices, and fruit of Farkleberry are probably similar to those that feed on blueberries; more specific information is unavailable. The berries are eaten by various mammals and birds; this includes the Black Bear, Eastern Chipmunk, Bobwhite Quail, and Robin. White-Tailed Deer occasionally browse on the twigs and foliage.
Fire ecology 7
More info for the terms: fire suppression, hardwood, tree
Tree sparkleberry occurs in many pine flatwood and sand pine scrub
communities that are essentially maintained by fire [27]. During recent
years, fire suppression has contributed to the decline of these
communities [1]. Many of these communities are now being replaced by
southern mixed hardwood forests, bayheads, and swamps [29]. However,
tree sparkleberry also occurs in these communities and often assumes
greater relative prominence in areas with longer fire-free intervals.
In longleaf pine-shortleaf pine communities, tree sparkleberry reaches
greatest abundance on less frequently burned sites [5].
Individuals on relatively nonflammable microsites, such as in moist
areas or on rocky sites lacking fuels, may be somewhat protected from
the effects of fire. Vegetative regeneration is not known to occur in
this species, but many Vacciniums are capable of sprouting after
aboveground foliage is damaged by fire. Tree sparkleberry presumably
reoccupies a site through bird- and mammal- dispersed seed.
Habitat characteristics 8
More info for the terms: swamp, tree, xeric
Tree sparkleberry grows on sand dunes, hammocks, granitic outcrops, dry
sterile hillsides, in rocky woods, abandoned fields, and meadows
[37,38,41,45,49]. It also occurs on a variety of moist sites such as in
wet bottomlands and along creek banks [37,41,45]. Tree sparkleberry is
common throughout much of the Coastal Plain and in the Piedmont [34].
In the southern Appalachians, plants generally grow below 2,591 feet
(790 m) in elevation [52].
Tree sparkleberry grows in many plant communities including mixed
swamps, cypress heads or domes, bayheads, and sand hills [19,28,29,30].
It also occurs in many xeric mixed pine-hardwood forests, pine
flatwoods, post oak savanna, and sand-pine scrub [19,37,45]. Common
overstory dominants include longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), loblolly
pine (P. taeda), slash pine (P. elliottii), shortleaf pine (P.
echinata), turkey oak (Quercus laevis), live oak (Q. virginana),
blackjack oak, hickory, black swamp tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), and
sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) [5,7,9,12,26,36,40]. Toward the
northern portion of its range in Missouri and Illinois, tree
sparkleberry may be an important mid-canopy species in eastern redcedar
(Juniperus virginiana) or eastern redcedar-post oak (Quercus stellata)
stands [31,50].
Understory associates: Common understory associates in longleaf pine
and longleaf-slash pine communities include deerberry (Vaccinium
stamineum), flameleaf sumac (Rhus copallina), poison-ivy (Toxicodendron
radicans), southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera), bluejack oak (Quercus
incana), gum bumelia (Bumelia languginosa), yaupon (Ilex vomitoria), and
muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia) [5,24,39]. Flowering dogwood
(Cornus florida), possumhaw (Ilex decidua), yaupon, saw greenbriar
(Smilax bona-nox), common greenbrier (S. rotundifolia), rusty blackhaw
(Viburnum rufidulum), muscadine grape, and various oaks are common
components of loblolly-shortleaf pine forests [4,7,40]. Other common
associates include hawthorne (Crataegus spp.), common persimmon
(Diospyros virginiana), sweet bay (Magnolia grandiflora), red bay
(Persea borbonia), hackberry (Celtis spp.), water oak (Quercus nigra),
and coast laurel oak (Q. laurifolia) [9,14,37].
Sources and Credits
- (c) Mary Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/38514062@N03/14460873638/
- (c) Eleanor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/wildflowersflorida/8717831856/
- Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_arboreum
- Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24639955
- Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24639962
- (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29450735
- Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24639971
- Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/24639968
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- World Flora Online
