Burke: Vaccinium cespitosum vs. Vaccinium myrtillus

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium myrtillus
	dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry	dwarf blueberry, low blueberry
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, many-branched shrub 2-3 dm. tall, the branches strongly angled, greenish, usually puberulent.
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 ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1-3 cm. long, light green, strongly serrulate, strongly veiny on the lower surface.
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 2-3 mm. long; calyx shallowly 5-lobed; corolla entire, pinkish, broadly urn-shaped; 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, dark red to bluish, 5-8 mm. long.

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium myrtillus
Flowering time	May-July	May-August
Habitat	Moist rocky ridges and meadows, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.	Forest openings at middle 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]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains. [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. membranaceum, V. myrtilloides, 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, 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

Vaccinium cespitosum

Vaccinium myrtillus

dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry

dwarf blueberry, low blueberry

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, many-branched shrub 2-3 dm. tall, the branches strongly angled, greenish, usually puberulent.

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 ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1-3 cm. long, light green, strongly serrulate, strongly veiny on the lower surface.

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 2-3 mm. long;

calyx shallowly 5-lobed;

corolla entire, pinkish, broadly urn-shaped;

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, dark red to bluish, 5-8 mm. long.

Vaccinium cespitosum

Vaccinium myrtillus

Flowering time

May-July

May-August

Habitat

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

Forest openings at middle 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]