Burke: Vaccinium cespitosum vs. Vaccinium scoparium

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium scoparium
	dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry	grouseberry
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 shrub, more or less matted, 1-2.5 dm. tall, the branches numerous, slender, broom-like, strongly angled, greenish or yellowish-green, usually glabrous.
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 lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 8-15 mm. long, finely serrulate, light green, usually glabrous, conspicuously 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 solitary in the axils of the lowest leaves of the youngest shoots, short-petiolate; corolla entire, pinkish, broadly urn-shaped, about 4 mm. long; anthers with awns and terminal pore-bearing tubes; ovary inferior.
Fruits	Fruit a berry, glaucous-blue, globose, 5-8 mm. broad.	Fruit a bright red berry, globose, 3-5 mm. broad.

	Vaccinium cespitosum	Vaccinium scoparium
Flowering time	May-July	May-August
Habitat	Moist rocky ridges and meadows, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.	Open, dry forests, mid- to high 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 on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. [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. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, 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 cespitosum

Vaccinium scoparium

dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry

grouseberry

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 shrub, more or less matted, 1-2.5 dm. tall, the branches numerous, slender, broom-like, strongly angled, greenish or yellowish-green, usually glabrous.

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 lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 8-15 mm. long, finely serrulate, light green, usually glabrous, conspicuously 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 solitary in the axils of the lowest leaves of the youngest shoots, short-petiolate;

corolla entire, pinkish, broadly urn-shaped, about 4 mm. long;

anthers with awns and terminal pore-bearing tubes;

ovary inferior.

Fruits

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

Fruit a bright red berry, globose, 3-5 mm. broad.

Vaccinium cespitosum

Vaccinium scoparium

Flowering time

May-July

May-August

Habitat

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

Open, dry forests, mid- to high 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]