ˈcow-berry
[f. cow n.1: app. a rendering of the Latin vaccīnium, f. vaccīnus of or pertaining to cows, applied to some plant, supposed to be the Bilberry (Vaccinium Myrtillus), and now taken as name of the genus.]
A book-name, of recent bestowal, for the low shrub Vaccinium Vitis-Idæa, and its fruit, called also Red Whortle-berry, Red Huckleberry.
The name was unknown to Lightfoot (1789), who has only red whortle-berry.
| 1800 Sir J. E. Smith Flora Brit. I. 416 Vaccinium Vitis Idæa, Red Whortleberry, Cowberry. 1859 W. S. Coleman Woodlands (1862) 93 Cowberry, or Mount Ida Whortleberry..They are of a scarlet or coral red colour, and have an acid harsh taste. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1199 The Cowberry has short procumbent stems and evergreen leaves. |