Vaccinium deliciosum |
Ericaceae subfam. vaccinioideae |
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blue-leaf huckleberry, Cascade bilberry, Cascade blueberry, Cascade huckleberry, Cascades blueberry, Rainier blueberry |
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Habit | Plants forming small clumps to extensive open colonies, 0.5–15 dm, rhizomatous; twigs green, sometimes glaucous, ± terete, rarely angled, usually glabrous, rarely hairy along veins or puberulent. | |
Stems | erect, arching, spreading, creeping, or procumbent. |
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Leaves | blades usually glaucous, obovate, oblanceolate, or, rarely, elliptic, 17–35 × 9–17 mm, margins usually serrate for at least distal 2/3, surfaces usually glabrous, eglandular or, rarely, glandular throughout, often glandular-hairy along midvein. |
deciduous or persistent, alternate, sometimes pseudoverticillate (Pieris); petiole usually present, sometimes absent (some species of Vaccinium); blade plane, abaxial groove absent. |
Inflorescences | usually axillary, sometimes terminal, usually panicles or racemes, sometimes corymbs or fascicles, sometimes solitary flowers, (borne on leafy twigs, except Zenobia on leafless twigs); perulae absent; bracts much shorter than sepals (sometimes absent). |
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Flowers | calyx glaucous, lobes indistinct or shallow, glabrous; corolla pink, creamy pink, or red, globose to globular-urceolate, 4–6 × 5–7 mm, thin, glaucous; filaments glabrous. |
pendulous; perianth and androecium hypogynous or epigynous (Gaylussacia, Vaccinium); sepals (4-)5[-8]; petals 4-5(-6), connate (rarely distinct or nearly so in some species of Vaccinium), corolla deciduous, campanulate, cylindric, or urceolate, lobes usually much shorter (sometimes longer) than tube; intrastaminal nectary disc absent or present; stamens 8-10[-16]; anthers dehiscent by terminal pores or short slits; ovary 5- or 10-locular; placentation axile; style straight. |
Fruits | capsular, dehiscence loculicidal, or baccate or drupaceous, indehiscent. |
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Berries | usually blue, glaucous, sometimes dull black, maroon, or red, 9–13 mm diam. |
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Seeds | ca. 1 mm. |
2-300, distinct, ovoid or obovoid to ellipsoid, lanceoloid, or conic, to angular or wedge- or crescent-shaped, usually not winged, sometimes slightly winged or tailed. |
2n | = 48. |
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Vaccinium deliciosum |
Ericaceae subfam. vaccinioideae |
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Phenology | Flowering late spring–early summer. | |
Habitat | Alpine meadows, subalpine coniferous woods, talus slopes | |
Elevation | 600-2000 m (2000-6600 ft) | |
Distribution |
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
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Nearly worldwide; especially arctic; temperate; and alpine areas; also very diverse in neotropical cloud forests |
Discussion | Vaccinium deliciosum produces especially flavorful berries. Research at the University of Idaho and Washington State University identified 31 aromatic flavor compounds in the fruits. Despite its outstanding flavor and large fruit size, it is harvested less than is V. membranaceum because it has a smaller range and is less abundant there than its black-fruited congener. Also, like V. membranaceum, V. deliciosum is native at higher elevations and can be difficult to grow at low elevations. Although rhizomatous, V. deliciosum has a dense root system and transplants easily. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Genera 46, species ca. 1600 (12 genera, 58 species in the flora) (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 523. | FNA vol. 8, p. 496. |
Parent taxa | Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus | Ericaceae |
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Subordinate taxa | ||
Name authority | Piper: Mazama 2: 103. 1901 , | Arnott: M. Napier, Encycl. Brit. ed. 7 5: 118. (1832) — (as Vaccinieae) |
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