Vaccinium ovalifolium

Vaccinium ovalifolium
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Conservation status
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.
Synonyms
Vaccinium alaskaense

Vaccinium ovalifolium (known as Alaska Blueberry, Early Blueberry or Oval-leaf Blueberry) is a plant found in coastal forests throughout southern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.

Growth

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

It 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.

Food uses

It is used by residents in jams and jellies and for making liqueur. The leaves are used for tea. Blueberry tea can be made from the leaves of the blueberry plant or from the juice of the blueberries themselves. In the winter, the shrub is an important food source for grazing deer, goats, and elk, and in the summer the nectar feeds hummingbirds.

References

• Ewing, Susan (1996). The Great Alaska Nature Factbook. Portland: Alaska Northwest Books. ISBN 0882404547. 

External links

• Media related to Vaccinium ovalifolium at Wikimedia Commons
• "Vaccinium ovalifolium Sm.". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=23607. 
• Vaccinium ovalifolium in Plantarium Database - A Photo Guide.