Vaccinium ovatum

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Ericaceae
Subfamilia: Vaccinioideae
Tribus: Vaccinieae
Genus: Vaccinium
Sectio: V. sect. Pyxothamnus
Species: Vaccinium ovatum
Name

Vaccinium ovatum Pursh (1813)
Synonyms

Metagonia ovata (Pursh) Nutt.
Metagonia pyxothamnus Nutt.
Vaccinium lanceolatum DC. ex Dun.
Vaccinium ovatum var. saporosum Jeps.
Vaccinium prunifolium Lodd.Cat. ex Loud.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Northern America
USA (California, Oregon, Washington State), Canada (British Columbia)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References
Primary references

Pursh, F.T. 1813 "1814". Flora Americae Septentrionalis, or, A systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America. Vol. 1. xxxv + 358 pp., London: White, Cochrance, and co. BHL Reference page. : 1: 290.

Additional references

Hickman, J.C. 1993. The Jepson Manuel, Higher Plants of California. Berkley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Vaccinium ovatum. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 29. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Vaccinium ovatum in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 29. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Vaccinium ovatum. Published online. Accessed: May 29 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Vaccinium ovatum. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 May 29.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Vaccinium ovatum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 08-Apr-12.

Vernacular names
English: California Huckleberry, California blueberry, evergreen huckleberry

Vaccinium ovatum is a North American species of flowering shrub known by the common names evergreen huckleberry, winter huckleberry and California huckleberry.

Distribution and ecology

Vaccinium ovatum is a small to medium-sized evergreen shrub native to the Western Pacific Coast of the United States and coastal British Columbia.[1][2][3] Typical flora associates are such plants as the western sword fern (Polystichum munitum), coastal woodfern (Dryopteris arguta), California snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis), common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus), and thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus).[4] It is often found sprouting from nurse logs and growing in conjunction with red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium).

Description

Vaccinium ovatum is a true huckleberry plant, growing well in shade or sun and thriving in acidic soils. Not needing much sun, the plant has a wide variety of forest homes; it is often seen sprouting out of old coast redwood stumps or dense brambles of other forest growths. The shiny, alternately arranged, egg-shaped leaves are 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8–1.2 inches) long and about a centimeter wide (0.4 inches) with finely serrated edges.[5] During the summer the plant produces round, edible black berries up to a centimeter (0.4 inches) in diameter,[6] which can remain on the branches until mid-winter.[7] The berries are eaten by birds and mammals throughout autumn.[8]

Uses
Culinary

Traditionally, huckleberries were sought after and collected by many Native American tribes along the Pacific coast in the region,[9] including the Karok.[10] The berries can be eaten raw and are said to taste similar to but sweeter and more intense than blueberries, and are a favorite ingredient in jams and jellies.[8] Meriwether Lewis recorded that he observed indigenous people eating the berries raw, dried, and in bread, which preserved the fruit for a season.[11]

Cultivation

Vaccinium ovatum is grown as an ornamental plant for horticultural use by specialty wholesale, retail, and botanic garden native plant nurseries. The plant is successful in natural landscape and native plant palette style, and habitat gardens and public sustainable landscape and restoration projects that are similar to its habitat conditions.[12][13]

See also

Vaccinium parvifolium
California mixed evergreen forest
Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve

References

Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
Calflora taxon report, University of California, Vaccinium ovatum Pursh, California huckleberry, Huckleberry, evergreen huckleberry
Turner Photographics, Vaccinium ovatum - Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest photo, description, partial distribution map
C. Michael Hogan. 2008. Coastal Woodfern (Dryopteris arguta), GlobalTwitcher, ed. N. Stromberg Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
Jepson Manual treatment, University of California — Vaccinium ovatum
Flora of North America, Vaccinium ovatum Pursh, 1813. California huckleberry
Benoliel, Doug (2011). Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest (Rev. and updated ed.). Seattle, WA: Skipstone. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-59485-366-1. OCLC 668195076.
Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 449. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
Foster, Steven; Hobbs, Christopher (April 2002). A Field Guide to Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 039583807X.
Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN 978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC 965922681.
Nyerges, Christopher (2017). Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods. Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides. ISBN 978-1-4930-2534-3. OCLC 965922681.
Jepson Horticultural Database for Vaccinium ovatum . 11.10.2010

CNPLX: Vaccinium ovatum . accessed 11.10.2010

Stephen Foster and Christopher Hobbs. 2002. Western Medicinal Plants and Herbs (pg. 287). Houghton Miller Company, New York, NY.