Vaccinium deliciosum |
Vaccinium cespitosum |
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blue-leaf huckleberry, Cascade bilberry, Cascade blueberry, Cascade huckleberry, Cascades blueberry, Rainier blueberry |
airelle gazonnante, dwarf bilberry, dwarf blueberry, dwarf huckleberry |
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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. | Plants forming dense colonies, 0.3–6 dm, superficially rhizomatous; twigs yellow-green, reddish green, or reddish brown, terete to somewhat angled, finely puberulent or, rarely, glabrous. |
Leaf | 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. |
blades green, usually oblanceolate, sometimes obovate or narrowly elliptic, 10–30 × 3–12 mm, margins usually serrulate from apex to at least mid blade, surfaces usually glandular abaxially, usually glabrous adaxially. |
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. |
calyx pale green, lobes vestigial, glabrous; corolla white, white with pink striping, or pink, cylindric-urceolate to globose, 4–7 × 3–5 mm, thin, glaucous; filaments glabrous. |
Berries | usually blue, glaucous, sometimes dull black, maroon, or red, 9–13 mm diam. |
usually blue, glaucous, rarely dull black, 5–9 mm diam. |
Seeds | ca. 1 mm. |
ca. 1 mm. |
2n | = 48. |
= 24. |
Vaccinium deliciosum |
Vaccinium cespitosum |
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Phenology | Flowering late spring–early summer. | Flowering late spring-mid summer. |
Habitat | Alpine meadows, subalpine coniferous woods, talus slopes | Open, usually dry habitats, from lowland to subalpine areas |
Elevation | 600-2000 m (2000-6600 ft) | 0-4500 m (0-14800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
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AK; CA; CO; ID; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NM; NY; OR; VT; WA; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Mexico (Chihuahua, Durango, Hidalgo); Central America (Guatemala)
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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.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 523. | FNA vol. 8, p. 524. |
Parent taxa | Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus | Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | V. arbuscula, V. caespitosum var. arbuscula, V. caespitosum var. paludicola, V. geminiflorum, V. nivictum, V. paludicola | |
Name authority | Piper: Mazama 2: 103. 1901 , | Michaux: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 234. 1803 , |
Web links |
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