Vaccinium ovalifolium
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Created: Monday, October 18, 2021 - 20:30Creator: Emma HarrowerRights: https://www.flickr.com/photos/57941693@N02/5920105029Standard and Creative Commons Licensing:  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) |
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Oval-leaved blueberry grows as an upright, up to 2 m tall shrub with alternate, oval leaves 4 cm in length. These leaves usually do not have teeth and have a slightly paler underside. Flowers are pink, urn to egg-shaped, growing into blue-black berries with a bluish bloom. These berries are large compared to other Vaccinium species and are 6-9 mm in diameter.
Vaccinium ovalifolium was considered a very delicious berry by many coastal groups. They were eaten fresh, dried into cakes, or preserved with grease.
Vaccinium ovalifolium can be found both in the coastal region and throughout the Rocky Mountains. These berries grow in moist coniferous forests and bogs and mid to subalpine elevations. They are the most common huckleberry in Alaska.
