Flora of North America species comparison

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Vaccinium deliciosum

Vaccinium ovatum

blue-leaf huckleberry, Cascade bilberry, Cascade blueberry, Cascade huckleberry, Cascades blueberry, Rainier blueberry

California huckleberry, evergreen huckelberry, evergreen huckleberry, winter huckleberry
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 clump- or crown-forming; twigs ± terete, pilose.
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 pale green abaxially, lustrous dark green adaxially, narrowly ovate, 21–29 × 8–12 mm, coriaceous, margins sharply serrate, surfaces glandular abaxially.
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.

corolla pinkish, 3–5 mm;

filaments hairy.
Berries

usually blue, glaucous, sometimes dull black, maroon, or red, 9–13 mm diam.

black or blue, 6–8 mm diam. 2n = 24.
Seeds

ca. 1 mm.

2n

= 48.

Vaccinium deliciosum

Vaccinium ovatum
Phenology Flowering late spring–early summer. Flowering early spring-mid summer.
Habitat Alpine meadows, subalpine coniferous woods, talus slopes Edges of coniferous forests, also epiphytic on trunks of redwoods
Elevation 600-2000 m (2000-6600 ft) 0-30 m (0-100 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 523. FNA vol. 8, p. 530.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Pyxothamnus
Sibling taxa
V. angustifolium, V. arboreum, V. boreale, V. cespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. crassifolium, V. darrowii, V. erythrocarpum, V. hirsutum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. tenellum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
V. angustifolium, V. arboreum, V. boreale, V. cespitosum, V. corymbosum, V. crassifolium, V. darrowii, V. deliciosum, V. erythrocarpum, V. hirsutum, V. macrocarpon, V. membranaceum, V. myrsinites, V. myrtilloides, V. myrtillus, V. ovalifolium, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. tenellum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
Synonyms V. ovatum var. saporosum
Name authority Piper: Mazama 2: 103. 1901 , Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 290. 1813 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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