Burke: Vaccinium myrsinites vs. Vaccinium membranaceum

	Vaccinium myrsinites	Vaccinium membranaceum
		square-twig blueberry, tall huckleberry, thin-leaved huckleberry
Habit		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, 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 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, blackish-purple or dark purplish-reddish, not glaucous, 7-9 mm. broad, broader than high.

	Vaccinium myrsinites	Vaccinium membranaceum
Flowering time		May-July
Habitat		Common in dry to moist coniferous forests and open areas, moderate to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county 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	V. cespitosum, 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 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, 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 myrsinites

Vaccinium membranaceum

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

Habit

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

Vaccinium myrsinites

Vaccinium membranaceum

Flowering time

May-July

Habitat

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

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county 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