Vaccinium ovatum
Encyclopedia
{taxobox
|image = Vaccinium ovatum 2.jpg
|regnum = Plantae
|unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
|unranked_classis = Eudicots
|unranked_ordo = Asterids
|ordo = Ericales
|familia = Ericaceae
|genus = Vaccinium
|species = V. ovatum
|binomial = Vaccinium ovatum
|binomial_authority = Pursh
|}Vaccinium ovatum is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names Evergreen Huckleberry, Winter Huckleberry and California Huckleberry.
shrub
native to the Western Pacific Coast
of the United States
and coastal British Columbia
. 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).
plant, growing well in shade or sun and thriving in acidic soil
s. 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 bramble
s of other forest growths. The shiny, alternately arranged leaves are 2 to 3 centimeters long and about a centimeter wide with finely serrated edges. During the summer the plant produces round, edible black berries
up to a centimeter in diameter.
s along the Pacific coast
in the region.
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.
|image = Vaccinium ovatum 2.jpg
|regnum = Plantae
|unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
|unranked_classis = Eudicots
Eudicots
Eudicots and Eudicotyledons are botanical terms introduced by Doyle & Hotton to refer to a monophyletic group of flowering plants that had been called tricolpates or non-Magnoliid dicots by previous authors...
|unranked_ordo = Asterids
Asterids
In the APG II system for the classification of flowering plants, the name asterids refers to a clade .Most of the taxa belonging to this clade had been referred to the Asteridae in the Cronquist system and to the Sympetalae in earlier systems...
|ordo = Ericales
Ericales
The Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons, including for example tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, and azalea. The order includes trees and bushes, lianas and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient...
|familia = Ericaceae
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
|genus = Vaccinium
Vaccinium
Vaccinium is a genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the plant Family Ericaceae. The fruit of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry or whortleberry, lingonberry or cowberry, and huckleberry...
|species = V. ovatum
|binomial = Vaccinium ovatum
|binomial_authority = Pursh
Frederick Traugott Pursh
Frederick Traugott Pursh was a German-American botanist.Born in Grossenhain, Saxony, to the name Friedrich Traugott Pursh, he was educated at Dresden Botanical Gardens, and emigrated to the United States in 1799...
|}Vaccinium ovatum is a 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 evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
native to the Western Pacific Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and coastal British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Typical flora associates are such plants as the Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum
Polystichum munitum
Polystichum munitum is an evergreen fern native to western North America, where it is one of the most abundant ferns occurring along the Pacific coast from southeast Alaska south to southern California, and also inland east to southeastern British Columbia, northern Idaho and western Montana, with...
), Coastal woodfern (Dryopteris arguta
Dryopteris arguta
Dryopteris arguta, with the common name coastal woodfern, is a species of wood fern. It is native to the west coast of North America, where it grows in oak woodlands and shady low elevation slopes in Southern California and north.-Description:...
), California Snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis
Symphoricarpos mollis
Symphoricarpos mollis is a species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family. It is found across western North America....
), Common snowberry (Symphoricarpos
Symphoricarpos
Symphoricarpos, with common names in English of Snowberry, Waxberry or Ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. All species are natives of North and Central America, except one native to western China...
albus), and Thimbleberry
Thimbleberry
Rubus parviflorus, commonly called thimbleberry or salmonberry, is a species of Rubus, native to western and northern North America, from Alaska east to Ontario and Michigan, and south to northern Mexico...
(Rubus parviflorus).
Growth
Vaccinium ovatum is a true huckleberryHuckleberry
Huckleberry is a common name used in North America for several species of plants in two closely related genera in the family Ericaceae:* Vaccinium* GaylussaciaHuckleberry may also refer to:-Plants:...
plant, growing well in shade or sun and thriving in acidic soil
Soil pH
The soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity in soils. pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the activity of hydrogen ions in solution. It ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. A pH below 7 is acidic and above 7 is basic. Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it...
s. 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 bramble
Bramble
Brambles are thorny plants of the genus Rubus, in the rose family . Bramble fruit is the fruit of any such plant, including the blackberry and raspberry. The word comes from Germanic *bram-bezi, whence also German Brombeere , Dutch Braam and French framboise...
s of other forest growths. The shiny, alternately arranged leaves are 2 to 3 centimeters long and about a centimeter wide with finely serrated edges. During the summer the plant produces round, edible black berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
up to a centimeter in diameter.
Uses
Traditionally huckleberries were sought after and collected by many Native American tribeNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s along the Pacific coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
in the region.
Cultivation
Vaccinium ovatum is grown as an ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
for horticultural
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
use by specialty wholesale, retail, and botanic garden native plant nurseries. The plant is successful in natural landscape
Natural landscaping
.Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are indigenous to the geographic area of the garden.-Maintenance:...
and native plant
California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
palette style, and habitat gardens and public sustainable landscape
Sustainable landscaping
Sustainable landscaping encompasses a variety of practices that have developed in response to environmental issues. These practices are used in every phase of landscaping, including design, construction, implementation and management of residential and commercial landscapes. Issues of...
and restoration projects that are similar to its habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
conditions.
See also
- Vaccinium parvifoliumVaccinium parvifoliumRed Huckleberry is a species of Vaccinium native to the western North America, where it is common in forests from southeastern Alaska and British Columbia south through western Washington and Oregon to central California. In the Oregon Coast Range, it is the most common Vaccinium...
- California mixed evergreen forestCalifornia mixed evergreen forestCalifornia mixed evergreen forest is an ecoregion, of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, that occurs in the Pacific Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon and California, and in the Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges in California...
- Huckleberry Botanic Regional PreserveHuckleberry Botanic Regional PreserveHuckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve is a regional park and nature reserve in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, Northern California. It is a park within the East Bay Regional Parks District system...