Flora of North America species comparison

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Vaccinium ovatum

Vaccinium scoparium

California huckleberry, evergreen huckelberry, evergreen huckleberry, winter huckleberry

grouse whortleberry, grouseberry, little-leaf huckleberry
Habit Plants clump- or crown-forming; twigs ± terete, pilose. Plants forming extensive colonies, 0.7–2 dm, rhizomatous; twigs green, angled, glabrous; ultimate branches compact, often forming broomlike clumps or tufts.
Leaf

blades pale green abaxially, lustrous dark green adaxially, narrowly ovate, 21–29 × 8–12 mm, coriaceous, margins sharply serrate, surfaces glandular abaxially.

blades pale green abaxially, elliptic, lanceolate, or ovate-lanceolate, 7–11 × 4–6 mm, margins finely serrulate, surfaces glabrous.
Flowers

corolla pinkish, 3–5 mm;

filaments hairy.

calyx pale green, lobes vestigial, glabrous;

corolla pink, globose to urceolate, 3–4 × 3–4 mm, thin, glaucous;

filaments glabrous.
Berries

black or blue, 6–8 mm diam. 2n = 24.

red, ± translucent, or bluish purple, 4–6 mm diam.
Seeds

ca. 1 mm.

Vaccinium ovatum

Vaccinium scoparium
Phenology Flowering early spring-mid summer. Flowering early-mid summer.
Habitat Edges of coniferous forests, also epiphytic on trunks of redwoods Alpine and subalpine meadows, heaths, talus slopes
Elevation 0-30 m (0-100 ft) 700-3000 m (2300-9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The soft, tart, bright red berries of Vaccinium scoparium, to 6 mm diameter, have fair to good flavor and were gathered and eaten raw by the Kootenay, Okanogan, Shuswap, and other Indian tribes. Harvesting was probably done using wooden or fish-bone combs. Small fruit size, low yields, and difficult harvesting make commercial prospects for V. scoparium questionable.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 530. FNA vol. 8, p. 522.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Pyxothamnus Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus
Sibling taxa
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
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. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, V. stamineum, V. tenellum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
Synonyms V. ovatum var. saporosum V. myrtillus var. microphyllum, V. erythrococcum
Name authority Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 290. 1813 , Leiberg ex Coville: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 5: 103. 1897 ,
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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