OregonFlora: Vaccinium myrtillus vs. Ericaceae

	Vaccinium myrtillus	Ericaceae
	whortleberry	heath family
Habit	Shrubs deciduous, up to 4 dm; branching habit open, rarely weakly “broom-like”; twigs strongly angled, green to greenish brown, sparsely puberulent along grooves, sometimes glabrous; rhizomatous.	Herbs, shrubs, or trees perennial, deciduous or evergreen, photosynthetic or non-photosynthetic.
Stems		erect to decumbent or prostrate, glabrous or hairy.
Leaves	elliptic to ovate, 11–20(30) × 5–10 mm, light green abaxially, green adaxially; thin; flexible; margins sharply serrate from tips to near base, prominently veined; tips acute; surfaces abaxially glandular, adaxially glabrous.	normal, reduced, or absent; basal rosettes or cauline, usually alternate but sometimes opposite or whorled; simple; leathery or not; margins entire or toothed; plane or revolute; petioles present or absent; stipules absent.
Inflorescences	solitary flowers in axils.	terminal or axillary racemes; panicles; cymes or flowers solitary, generally bracted.
Flowers	sepals 5; calyces shallowly lobed, glabrous; petals 5; corollas ovoid-urceolate to globose, 3–7 × 4–7 mm, white to pink, glaucous; filaments glabrous.	bisexual, radially or bilaterally symmetric; sepals 3–5; distinct or fused basally; petals 3–5; distinct or fused; stamens 5–10; anthers awned or not, dehiscent by pores or slits; styles 1; stigmas 1, generally 5-lobed.
Fruits	4–9 mm in diameter, dark red to bluish black; without a bloom.	capsules; berries, or drupes.
Seeds		winged or not.
2n	=24, 48.

	Vaccinium myrtillus	Ericaceae
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[BONAP county map]
Discussion	Wet mid- to high elevation areas. Flowering Apr–Jul. 1100–2100 m. BW, Casc, Sisk. ID, NV, WA; northeast to Alberta and southeast to NM, Greenland; Asia, Europe. Native. Morphologically, Vaccinium myrtillus is similar to V. scoparium, and at higher elevations their ranges overlap. Vaccinium myrtillus differs from V. scoparium by its generally larger leaves and flowers, often sparsely puberulent twigs, and its broom-like habit.	Nearly worldwide. ~120 genera; 26 genera treated in Flora. Some authorities treat the subfamilies of Ericaceae as distinct families. Within Oregon, these would include Monotropaceae, Pyrolaceae, and Vacciniaceae. Conservatively, we have chosen not to recognize these families. Non-photosynthetic ericaceous species are often referred to as saprophytes, plants that use decaying or non-living organic matter for nourishment. In reality, these species are true parasites, obtaining all of their nutrition from mycorrhizal fungi, which in turn parasitize photosynthetic plants, usually conifers. They are more appropriately referred to as epiparasites or mycotrophs.
Source	Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 640 Stephen Meyers	Flora of Oregon, volume 1
Sibling taxa	V. caespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. uliginosum
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Ericaceae

whortleberry

heath family

Habit

Shrubs deciduous, up to 4 dm; branching habit open, rarely weakly “broom-like”; twigs strongly angled, green to greenish brown, sparsely puberulent along grooves, sometimes glabrous; rhizomatous.

Herbs, shrubs, or trees perennial, deciduous or evergreen, photosynthetic or non-photosynthetic.

Stems

erect to decumbent or prostrate, glabrous or hairy.

Leaves

elliptic to ovate, 11–20(30) × 5–10 mm, light green abaxially, green adaxially; thin; flexible;

margins sharply serrate from tips to near base, prominently veined;

tips acute;

surfaces abaxially glandular, adaxially glabrous.

normal, reduced, or absent;

basal rosettes or cauline, usually alternate but sometimes opposite or whorled; simple; leathery or not;

margins entire or toothed; plane or revolute;

petioles present or absent;

stipules absent.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers in axils.

terminal or axillary racemes; panicles;

cymes or flowers solitary, generally bracted.

Flowers

sepals 5;

calyces shallowly lobed, glabrous;

petals 5;

corollas ovoid-urceolate to globose, 3–7 × 4–7 mm, white to pink, glaucous;

filaments glabrous.

bisexual, radially or bilaterally symmetric;

sepals 3–5; distinct or fused basally;

petals 3–5; distinct or fused;

stamens 5–10;

anthers awned or not, dehiscent by pores or slits;

styles 1;

stigmas 1, generally 5-lobed.

Fruits

4–9 mm in diameter, dark red to bluish black; without a bloom.

capsules; berries, or drupes.

Seeds

winged or not.

=24, 48.

Ericaceae

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Wet mid- to high elevation areas. Flowering Apr–Jul. 1100–2100 m. BW, Casc, Sisk. ID, NV, WA; northeast to Alberta and southeast to NM, Greenland; Asia, Europe. Native.

Morphologically, Vaccinium myrtillus is similar to V. scoparium, and at higher elevations their ranges overlap. Vaccinium myrtillus differs from V. scoparium by its generally larger leaves and flowers, often sparsely puberulent twigs, and its broom-like habit.

Nearly worldwide. ~120 genera; 26 genera treated in Flora.

Some authorities treat the subfamilies of Ericaceae as distinct families. Within Oregon, these would include Monotropaceae, Pyrolaceae, and Vacciniaceae. Conservatively, we have chosen not to recognize these families. Non-photosynthetic ericaceous species are often referred to as saprophytes, plants that use decaying or non-living organic matter for nourishment. In reality, these species are true parasites, obtaining all of their nutrition from mycorrhizal fungi, which in turn parasitize photosynthetic plants, usually conifers. They are more appropriately referred to as epiparasites or mycotrophs.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 640
Stephen Meyers

Flora of Oregon, volume 1

Sibling taxa