Vaccinium ovalifolium

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. 1787[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]

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]

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

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]

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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 GRIN (October 19, 2009). "Vaccinium ovalifolium information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. GRIN (October 19, 2009). "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. alpinum information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  4. 1 2 GRIN (October 19, 2009). "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. GRIN (October 19, 2009). "'Vaccinium ovalifolium var. sachalinense information from NPGS/GRIN". Taxonomy for Plants. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland: USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 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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