OregonFlora: Vaccinium tenellum vs. Vaccinium macrocarpon

	Vaccinium tenellum	Vaccinium macrocarpon
		cranberry
Habit		Shrubs evergreen, 3–15 dm; stems vine-like, trailing, sometimes ascending; twigs slender, round in cross section to angled, light red to brown, often peeling, glabrous to minutely puberulent; not rhizomatous.
Leaves		ovate to elliptic, 5–18 × 2–7 mm, lightly glaucous abaxially, green to dark green adaxially; stiff; margins entire; tips rounded to subacute; surfaces abaxially glaucous, adaxially glabrous.
Inflorescences		solitary flowers in axils; bracts 1–2 mm wide.
Flowers		sepals 4; calyces shallowly lobed, deltate, red, glaucous; petals 4, 5–12 mm, glabrous; whitish pink to pink; lobes deeply parted; filaments 25–33% as long as anthers, pubescent.
Fruits		7–15 mm in diameter, pink to red, with or without a bloom.
2n		=24.

	Vaccinium tenellum	Vaccinium macrocarpon
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion		Wet coastal habitats. Flowering May–Jul. 0–50 m. Est. WA; north to British Columbia, eastern North America; Europe. Exotic. Native to eastern North America, Vaccinium macrocarpon has escaped cultivation and naturalized elsewhere. This species appears closely related to V. oxycoccos. Whether these species will hybridize in the wild remains to be investigated.
Source		Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 640 Stephen Meyers
Sibling taxa	V. caespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. uliginosum	V. caespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. membranaceum, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. uliginosum
Web links	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: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, 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

Vaccinium tenellum

Vaccinium macrocarpon

cranberry

Habit

Shrubs evergreen, 3–15 dm; stems vine-like, trailing, sometimes ascending; twigs slender, round in cross section to angled, light red to brown, often peeling, glabrous to minutely puberulent; not rhizomatous.

Leaves

ovate to elliptic, 5–18 × 2–7 mm, lightly glaucous abaxially, green to dark green adaxially; stiff;

margins entire;

tips rounded to subacute;

surfaces abaxially glaucous, adaxially glabrous.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers in axils;

bracts 1–2 mm wide.

Flowers

sepals 4;

calyces shallowly lobed, deltate, red, glaucous;

petals 4, 5–12 mm, glabrous; whitish pink to pink;

lobes deeply parted;

filaments 25–33% as long as anthers, pubescent.

Fruits

7–15 mm in diameter, pink to red, with or without a bloom.

=24.

Vaccinium tenellum

Vaccinium macrocarpon

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Wet coastal habitats. Flowering May–Jul. 0–50 m. Est. WA; north to British Columbia, eastern North America; Europe. Exotic.

Native to eastern North America, Vaccinium macrocarpon has escaped cultivation and naturalized elsewhere. This species appears closely related to V. oxycoccos. Whether these species will hybridize in the wild remains to be investigated.

Source

Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 640
Stephen Meyers

Sibling taxa