Vaccinium ovalifolium
| Vaccinium ovalifolium | |
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| Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington | |
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| Species: | V. ovalifolium
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| Binomial name | |
| Vaccinium ovalifolium | |
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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]
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:
- V. o. var. sachalinense is only found in Sakhalin in Russia, and Hokkaido in Japan.[5]
- V. o. var. alpinum is distributed only within the Daisetsu and Hidaka Mountains, both on the island of Hokkaido.[3]
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]
References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 [{{#property:P1421|}} "{{#Property:P225}}"] Check
|url=value (help). Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 10, 2012. - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 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.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Ewing, Susan (1996). The Great Alaska Nature Factbook. Portland, Oregon: Alaska Northwest Books. ISBN 0-88240-454-7.
- ↑ Flora of North America, Vaccinium ovalifolium Smith 1817.
- ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 staate-level distribution map
External links
- Photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, collected in Russian America (now Alaska) in 1787, isotype of Vaccinium ovalifolium
- Jepson eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Vaccinium ovalifolium (California huckleberry)
- Calflora taxon report, University of California: Vaccinium ovatum (California huckleberry, evergreen huckleberry)
- United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile for Vaccinium ovatum (California huckleberry)
- Vaccinium ovalifolium — University of California, Calphotos Photos gallery
- Rating Criteria for Non-Timber Quality Codes. 2010. Vaccinium ovalifolium. Common name: Mountain blueberry; oval-leaved blueberry. 1 MacKinnon, A., J. Pojar, and R. Coupe. 1992. Plants of northern British Columbia. B.C. Ministry of Forests and Long Pine Publishing. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada description, criteria for judging quality of fruit
- University of Alaska @ Fairbanks, Native Plants of Alaska, Oval-leafed Blueberry photos, description, propagation information
- Черника овальнолистная (Vaccinium ovalifolium, Ericaceae) in Russian with photos
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- Vaccinium
- Blueberries
- Flora of North America
- Flora of Japan
- Flora of the Russian Far East
- Plants described in 1817
- Garden plants of North America
- Bird food plants