Vaccinium ovalifolium

Vaccinium ovalifolium (commonly known as Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf bilberry, oval-leaf blueberry, and oval-leaf huckleberry)[2] is a plant in the heath family having three varieties, all of which grow in northerly regions, including the subarctic.[2]

Vaccinium ovalifolium
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington

Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Eudicots
(unranked):
Asterids
Order:
Ericales
Family:
Ericaceae
Genus:
Vaccinium
Species:
V. ovalifolium
Binomial name
Vaccinium ovalifolium
Sm. 1817[1]
Varieties
  • Vaccinium ovalifolium var. alpinum (Tatew.) T.Yamaz.
  • Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium (autonym)
  • Vaccinium ovalifolium var. sachalinense T.Yamaz.
List source :[2][3][4][5]
Synonyms[2][3][4]
  • Vaccinium alaskaense Howell
  • Vaccinium axillare Nakai
  • Vaccinium chamissonis Bong.
  • Vaccinium chamissonis var. alpinum Tatew.
     [=V. o. var. alpinum]
  • Vaccinium ovalifolium var. coriaceum Boiss.
     [=V. o. var. ovalifolium]

Growth

Vaccinium ovalifolium is a spreading shrub which may grow to 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. It has pink 1⁄4 in (0.64 cm) urn-shaped flowers. Berries are dark blue, often black, sometimes with a waxy coating.[6][7]

Distribution

The original variety (i.e. the automatically named Vaccinium ovalifolium var[iety] ovalifolium) is found on both the eastern and western sides of the Pacific Ocean; in North America, it is distributed in Canada (in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, south central Quebec, and southern Yukon Territory); and the United States (in southern Alaska, Idaho, northern Michigan, Oregon, western South Dakota, and Washington);[8] across the Pacific to Asia and Eurasia, it is distributed in Russia (in Kamchatka, the southern Kuril Islands, Primorsky Krai, and Sakhalin); and in Japan (in Hokkaido, and central and northern Honshu).[2]

The two other varieties are confined to Japan and Russia:

Uses

Vaccinium ovalifolium is used in jams and jellies and for making liqueur. Blueberry herbal tea can be made from the leaves, or from the juice of the blueberries themselves.[6]

Vaccinium ovalifolium has been used in Russia in the making of dyes, including the use of its tannin.[2]

In the winter, Vaccinium ovalifolium is an important food source for grazing deer, goats, and elk, and in the summer the nectar feeds hummingbirds.[6]

Older bark is greyish, but twigs are brown, yellow or reddish.

References
  1. Vaccinium ovalifolium was originally collected for classification from Alaska by botanist Archibald Menzies between 1787–1788; and later described and published by botanist James Edward Smith in The Cyclopaedia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences and Literature (by Abraham Rees), London. 36: Vaccinium #2. 1817. "Name - Vaccinium ovalifolium Sm". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  2. "Vaccinium ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  3. Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. alpinum". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  4. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  5. Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. sachalinense". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  6. Ewing, Susan (1996). The Great Alaska Nature Factbook. Portland, Oregon: Alaska Northwest Books. ISBN 0-88240-454-7.
  7. Flora of North America, Vaccinium ovalifolium Smith 1817.
  8. Biota of North America Program 2014 staate-level distribution map
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