Vaccinium ovalifolium

Vaccinium ovalifolium
	Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Vaccinium
Species:	V. ovalifolium
Binomial name
	Vaccinium ovalifolium; Sm. 1817
Varieties
	Vaccinium ovalifolium var. alpinum (Tatew.) T.Yamaz.; Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium (autonym); Vaccinium ovalifolium var. sachalinense T.Yamaz.; List source :
Synonyms
	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]

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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Vaccinium ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. alpinum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^ ^a ^b Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. sachalinense". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
^ ^a ^b ^c 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

Media related to Vaccinium ovalifolium at Wikimedia Commons

[trop-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.

[grin1-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Vaccinium ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.

[grin2-3] Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. alpinum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.

[grin3-4] "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.

[grin4-5] Journal of Japanese Botany 62:128. 1987. "Vaccinium ovalifolium var. sachalinense". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved November 10, 2012.

[sw-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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