A genus consisting of shrubs, in Ericaceae, found widely throughout the Northern Hemisphere and extending south along tropical mountain ranges, especially in Malesia. The shrubs are erect or creeping, with alternate deciduous or evergreen leaves. The small flowers resemble those of the true heaths (Erica), but the ovary is beneath the flower. The flowers are single, clustered, or in long spikes in the leaf axil. The berries are usually edible.

Britannica Editors. "Vaccinium". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Dec. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/plant/Vaccinium. Accessed 19 September 2026.