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grouse whortleberry, grouseberry, little-leaf huckleberry

small black blueberry, southern blueberry

Habit Plants forming extensive colonies, 0.7–2 dm, rhizomatous; twigs green, angled, glabrous; ultimate branches compact, often forming broomlike clumps or tufts. Plants forming extensive, open colonies, 1–7.5 dm; twigs yellowish green, ± terete, hairy.
Leaves

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

deciduous, rarely persistent;

blade green, spatulate to elliptic, 13–40 × 3–17 mm, subcoriaceous, margins sharply to obscurely serrate, surfaces glandular abaxially, hairy especially when young, rarely glabrous.

Flowers

calyx pale green, lobes vestigial, glabrous;

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

filaments glabrous.

calyx pale green, sometimes hairy;

corolla usually white tinged with pink, cylindric, 5–9 mm;

filaments ± hairy.

Berries

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

black, 6–8 mm diam., sometimes puberulent.

Seeds

ca. 1 mm.

5–25, ca. 1 mm.

2n

= 24.

Vaccinium scoparium

Vaccinium tenellum

Phenology Flowering early-mid summer. Flowering winter–spring.
Habitat Alpine and subalpine meadows, heaths, talus slopes Dry sand hills, pine barrens, scrubby oak woods, open pine parkland, and flatwoods subject to burning
Elevation 700-3000 m (2300-9800 ft) 0-200 m (0-700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; MS; NC; SC; VA
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[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. 522. FNA vol. 8, p. 528.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Myrtillus Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Vaccinium > sect. Cyanococcus
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. ovatum, V. oxycoccos, V. pallidum, V. parvifolium, 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. scoparium, V. stamineum, V. uliginosum, V. vitis-idaea
Synonyms V. myrtillus var. microphyllum, V. erythrococcum Cyanococcus tenellus
Name authority Leiberg ex Coville: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 5: 103. 1897 , Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 12. 1789 ,
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