Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. cf. ssp. minus (G.Lodd.) Hultén (lower row: Finland, Hämeenkyrö, Sasi, 1989; upper row: Finland, Lohja, Kirkniemi, 1991). – Image: Harri Harmaja (scanned from dried specimens). – This plant reminds of V. vitis-idaea ssp. minus (Ericaceae) of the northernmost areas of Asia and North America. Apparently the present taxon is not a mere dwarfed modification as it is fertile: the plants in the lower row have flowers at the bud stage while the plants in the upper row bear mature (small!) berries. I have observed this kind of plants also elsewhere in southern Finland. V. vitis-idaea ssp. minus is currently not accepted as a member of the Finnish or Fennoscandian flora. In fact, the presence of this low-growth taxon anywhere in Europe is debatable (a similar uncertainty exists concerning Rhododendron subarcticum Harmaja = Ledum decumbens (Aiton) Lodd. ex Steud.). In the Botanical Museum (H) of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, two specimens collected from a locality in Kola peninsula have been suspected to represent V. vitis-idaea ssp. minus.
Created March 17, 2004.