Burke: Vaccinium myrtillus vs. Vaccinium membranaceum

	Vaccinium myrtillus	Vaccinium membranaceum
	dwarf blueberry, low blueberry	square-twig blueberry, tall huckleberry, thin-leaved huckleberry
Habit	Deciduous, many-branched shrub 2-3 dm. tall, the branches strongly angled, greenish, usually 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 ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1-3 cm. long, light green, strongly serrulate, strongly veiny on the lower surface.	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 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.	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, dark red to bluish, 5-8 mm. long.	Fruit a berry, blackish-purple or dark purplish-reddish, not glaucous, 7-9 mm. broad, broader than high.

	Vaccinium myrtillus	Vaccinium membranaceum
Flowering time	May-August	May-July
Habitat	Forest openings at middle elevations in the mountains	Common in dry to moist coniferous forests and open areas, moderate to mid-elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains. [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	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	V. cespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrtilloides, 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: 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	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 blueberry, low blueberry

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

Habit

Deciduous, many-branched shrub 2-3 dm. tall, the branches strongly angled, greenish, usually 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 ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1-3 cm. long, light green, strongly serrulate, strongly veiny on the lower surface.

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 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.

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

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

Vaccinium myrtillus

Vaccinium membranaceum

Flowering time

May-August

May-July

Habitat

Forest openings at middle elevations in the mountains

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

Distribution

Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains.

[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