''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' (commonly known as Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf bilberry, oval-leaf blueberry, and oval-leaf huckleberry) is a plant in the

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

family having three varieties, all of which grow in northerly regions, including the subarctic.

Growth

''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' is a spreading shrub which may grow to tall. It has pink urn-shaped flowers. Berries are dark blue, often black, sometimes with a waxy coating.

Distribution

The original variety (i.e. the automatically named ''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' var ety''ovalifolium'') is found on both the eastern and western sides of the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

; in North America, it is distributed in Canada (in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Newfoundland,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, south central

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and southern

Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

); and the United States (in southern

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, northern

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, western

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

);Biota of North America Program 2014 staate-level distribution map
/ref> across the Pacific to Asia and

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

, it is distributed in Russia (in

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...

, the southern

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of t ...

, and

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

); and in Japan (in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

, and central and northern

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island se ...

). :The two other varieties are confined to Japan and Russia: *''V. o.'' var. ''sachalinense'' is only found in

in Russia, and

in Japan. *''V. o.'' var. ''alpinum'' is distributed only within the Daisetsu and Hidaka Mountains, both on the island of

Uses

''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' is used in

jams and jellies Jams or JAMS may refer to: *Plural form of jam, a type of fruit preserve * Jams (clothing line) *JAMS (organization), United States organization that provides alternative dispute resolution services *The JAMs, former name of The KLF, a British ba ...

and for making liqueur. Blueberry

herbal tea Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Oftentimes herb tea, or the plain term ...

can be made from the leaves, or from the juice of the blueberries themselves. ''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' has been used in Russia in the making of dyes, including the use of its

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'' ...

. In the winter, ''Vaccinium ovalifolium'' is an important food source for grazing

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

goats The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of th ...

, and elk, and in the summer the nectar feeds hummingbirds. Vaccinium ovalifolium 6887

References

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 galleryRating 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

in Russian with photos * {{Taxonbar, from=Q143673 ovalifolium Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Japan Flora of the Russian Far East Plants described in 1817 Garden plants of North America Bird food plants Flora of Western Canada Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of Yukon Flora of South Dakota Flora of Michigan