Burke: Vaccinium scoparium vs. Vaccinium cespitosum

	Vaccinium scoparium	Vaccinium cespitosum
	grouseberry	dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry
Habit	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.	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.
Leaves	Leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 8-15 mm. long, finely serrulate, light green, usually glabrous, conspicuously veiny on the lower surface.	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.
Flowers	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.	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.
Fruits	Fruit a bright red berry, globose, 3-5 mm. broad.	Fruit a berry, glaucous-blue, globose, 5-8 mm. broad.

	Vaccinium scoparium	Vaccinium cespitosum
Flowering time	May-August	May-July
Habitat	Open, dry forests, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.	Moist rocky ridges and meadows, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	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]	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]
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. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. uliginosum	V. corymbosum, V. deliciosum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. uliginosum
Web links	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	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

Vaccinium scoparium

Vaccinium cespitosum

grouseberry

dwarf bilberry, dwarf huckleberry

Habit

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.

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.

Leaves

Leaves lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 8-15 mm. long, finely serrulate, light green, usually glabrous, conspicuously veiny on the lower surface.

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.

Flowers

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.

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.

Fruits

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

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

Vaccinium scoparium

Vaccinium cespitosum

Flowering time

May-August

May-July

Habitat

Open, dry forests, mid- to high elevations in the mountains.

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

Distribution

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]

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]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa