Burke: Vaccinium cespitosum vs. Vaccinium membranaceum

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium membranaceum
	dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry	square-twig blueberry, tall huckleberry, thin-leaved huckleberry
Habit	Deciduous shrubs spreading widely by rhizomes and forming mats 1.5-3 dm. tall, the twigs somewhat angled, with yellowish-green to reddish bark, usually finely puberulent.	Deciduous spreading shrub 0.5-2 m. tall, the young twigs slightly angled, yellow-green, glabrous, the old bark grayish and shredding.
Leaves	Leaves alternate, oblanceolate, 1-3 cm. long and + to as broad, with a wedge-shaped base, light green and glabrous above, paler and glandular below, serrulate from mid-length to the tips.	Leaves alternate, thin, ovate to elliptic-obovate, tapered and pointed at the tip and rounded-acute at the base, 2-5 cm. long, finely serrulate nearly full length, sparsely glandular and paler on the lower surfaces.
Flowers	Flowers single in the axils, whitish to pink, 6-7 mm. long; calyx obscurely 5-lobed; corolla united, narrowly urn-shaped, twice as long as wide, the 5 lobes very short; anthers with dorsal awns and apical, pore-bearing tubes; ovary inferior.	Flowers single in the axils on pedicels 5-10 mm. long, pale yellowish-pink, about 6 mm. long; calyx obscurely 5-lobed; corolla entire, broadly urn-shaped, longer than broad; anthers with dorsal awns and apical, pore-bearing tubes; ovary inferior.
Fruits	Fruit a berry, glaucous-blue, globose, 5-8 mm. broad.	Fruit a berry, blackish-purple or dark purplish-reddish, not glaucous, 7-9 mm. broad, broader than high.

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium membranaceum
Flowering time	May-July	May-July
Habitat	Moist rocky ridges and meadows, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.	Common in dry to moist coniferous forests and open areas, moderate to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Widely distributed in the mountainous areas of Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and northeastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map]	Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes region. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. uliginosum	V. cespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. macrocarpon, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. uliginosum
Web links	Local floras: 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	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Vaccinium membranaceum

dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry

square-twig blueberry, tall huckleberry, thin-leaved huckleberry

Habit

Deciduous shrubs spreading widely by rhizomes and forming mats 1.5-3 dm. tall, the twigs somewhat angled, with yellowish-green to reddish bark, usually finely puberulent.

Deciduous spreading shrub 0.5-2 m. tall, the young twigs slightly angled, yellow-green, glabrous, the old bark grayish and shredding.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, oblanceolate, 1-3 cm. long and + to as broad, with a wedge-shaped base, light green and glabrous above, paler and glandular below, serrulate from mid-length to the tips.

Leaves alternate, thin, ovate to elliptic-obovate, tapered and pointed at the tip and rounded-acute at the base, 2-5 cm. long, finely serrulate nearly full length, sparsely glandular and paler on the lower surfaces.

Flowers

Flowers single in the axils, whitish to pink, 6-7 mm. long;

calyx obscurely 5-lobed;

corolla united, narrowly urn-shaped, twice as long as wide, the 5 lobes very short;

anthers with dorsal awns and apical, pore-bearing tubes;

ovary inferior.

Flowers single in the axils on pedicels 5-10 mm. long, pale yellowish-pink, about 6 mm. long;

calyx obscurely 5-lobed;

corolla entire, broadly urn-shaped, longer than broad;

anthers with dorsal awns and apical, pore-bearing tubes;

ovary inferior.

Fruits

Fruit a berry, glaucous-blue, globose, 5-8 mm. broad.

Fruit a berry, blackish-purple or dark purplish-reddish, not glaucous, 7-9 mm. broad, broader than high.

Vaccinium cespitosum

Vaccinium membranaceum

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

Moist rocky ridges and meadows, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.

Common in dry to moist coniferous forests and open areas, moderate to mid-elevations in the mountains.

Distribution

Widely distributed in the mountainous areas of Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, northern Great Plains, Great Lakes region, and northeastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

Widely distributed on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and Great Lakes region.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa