Burke: Vaccinium myrtillus vs. Vaccinium ovatum

	Vaccinium myrtillus	Vaccinium ovatum
	dwarf blueberry, low blueberry	evergreen huckleberry
Habit	Deciduous, many-branched shrub 2-3 dm. tall, the branches strongly angled, greenish, usually puberulent.	Evergreen, spreading to upright shrub, 0.5-4 m. tall, the young stems pubescent.
Leaves	Leaves ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1-3 cm. long, light green, strongly serrulate, strongly veiny on the lower surface.	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 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 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, dark red to bluish, 5-8 mm. long.	Fruit a berry, deep purplish-black, 4-7 mm. broad, glaucous or shining.

	Vaccinium myrtillus	Vaccinium ovatum
Identification notes		Our only Vaccinium species with leathery, evergreen leaves and flowers in recemes.
Flowering time	May-August	April-August
Habitat	Forest openings at middle elevations in the mountains	Coniferous forests at low elevations.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county 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. 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. membranaceum, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, 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 ovatum

dwarf blueberry, low blueberry

evergreen huckleberry

Habit

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

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

Leaves

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

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 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 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