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The "Arage-natsu-haze" (Vaccinium ciliatum) belongs to Ericaceae (the Azalea family). It is a small deciduous tree that is distributed from the Sea of Japan west of Fukui Prefecture of Honshu to northern Kyushu. It grows in mountainous areas and is 1-2 m tall. The leaves are broadly elliptic with short, pointed tips and grow in alternate arrangements. The entire leaf is margined with coarse hairs. From May to June, it produces racemes at the ends of new branches, which produce numerous downward-facing white flowers. The corolla is bell-shaped, lobed, and slightly recurved. The fruit is a spherical berry that ripens to a dark indigo with a powdery white color around October and is edible.
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