Burke: Vaccinium cespitosum vs. Vaccinium ovatum

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium ovatum
	dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry	evergreen 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.	Evergreen, spreading to upright shrub, 0.5-4 m. tall, the young stems pubescent.
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, aligned horizontally along the stem, short-petiolate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, leathery, bright gloss-green on the upper surface, lighter beneath, the margins thickened and sharply serrulate.
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 axillary in 3- to 10-flowered racemes; corolla entire, bright pinkish, narrowly bell-shaped, about 7.5 mm. long, the 5 lobes short and spreading; filaments densely pubescent; anthers with long, straight pore-bearing tubes but without awns; ovary inferior.
Fruits	Fruit a berry, glaucous-blue, globose, 5-8 mm. broad.	Fruit a berry, deep purplish-black, 4-7 mm. broad, glaucous or shining.

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium ovatum
Identification notes		Our only Vaccinium species with leathery, evergreen leaves and flowers in recemes.
Flowering time	May-July	April-August
Habitat	Moist rocky ridges and meadows, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.	Coniferous forests at low elevations.
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 west of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California. [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. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, 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 ovatum

dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry

evergreen 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.

Evergreen, spreading to upright shrub, 0.5-4 m. tall, the young stems pubescent.

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, aligned horizontally along the stem, short-petiolate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, leathery, bright gloss-green on the upper surface, lighter beneath, the margins thickened and sharply serrulate.

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 axillary in 3- to 10-flowered racemes;

corolla entire, bright pinkish, narrowly bell-shaped, about 7.5 mm. long, the 5 lobes short and spreading;

filaments densely pubescent;

anthers with long, straight pore-bearing tubes but without awns;

ovary inferior.

Fruits

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

Fruit a berry, deep purplish-black, 4-7 mm. broad, glaucous or shining.

Vaccinium cespitosum

Vaccinium ovatum

Identification notes

Our only Vaccinium species with leathery, evergreen leaves and flowers in recemes.

Flowering time

May-July

April-August

Habitat

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

Coniferous forests at low elevations.

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]