Japanese name: ウスノキ（臼木） Scientific name:Vaccinium hirtum
[Overview]
A deciduous shrub 0.5–1 m tall, found in sunny rocky places in the mountains.
Young branches are green and densely hairy; as the ridges of the branches develop, the hairs line up in two rows.
Young branches take on a reddish tinge in sunny places.
Leaves are simple and alternate, narrowly ovate to elliptic, 2–5 cm long and 0.7–2.5 cm wide, but highly variable.
There are often hairs on the main vein on both sides of the leaf.
The leaf margin has fine hooked teeth.
Flowers are borne singly or in pairs, drooping, at the tips of the previous year's branches.
The corolla is reddish yellow-green, bell-shaped, 6–7 mm long, with 5 shallow lobes at the tip.
The tips of the lobes curl back.
There are 10 stamens, which do not protrude from the corolla.
The fruit is an ovoid-round berry 7–8 mm across, slightly pentagonal, with the tip depressed like a mortar.
The fruit ripens to a glossy bright red and is sweet-sour and edible.
