Vaccinium ovatum

Plant Characteristics

Habit		shrub
Height:	⇕	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 5 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5.
Width:	⇔	3 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 3. to 5 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 5.
Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	Pacific NW into British Columbia

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun, part-sun, shade
Water:	◍	moist
Features:	✓	evergreen, edible, fruit
USDA Zones:		7 to 10.5

Scientific Names

Ericaceae >

Vaccinium >

ovatum >

Pursh >

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

It is a small to medium sized evergreen shrub native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States and into British Columbia.

It 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 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. Traditionally these berries were sought after and collected by many Native American tribes along the Pacific coast in the region.

Read about Vaccinium ovatum in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Vaccinium ovatum, Pursh. An erect, rigid, evergreen shrub, 2-8 ft. high, with pubescent branchlets: lvs. 1/2 - 1 in. long, thick and firm, very numerous, shining, ovate to oblong-lanceolate, acute, minutely and acutely serrulate, glabrous or nearly so, bright green both sides: fls. in short and close axillary clusters; deciduous bracts usually red; corolla campanulate, 1/4 in. long, rose-color or nearly white; calyx-lobes acute, red: berries black, acid, with or without bloom. Moist woods, Vancouver to Monterey, Calif.—"A distinctly western species, and one of California's most beautiful hedge-plants, but not well known. It is very tenacious of life and bears pruning well. It is prop. from suckers, cuttings, and seeds, which last it bears freely." The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

More information about this species can be found on the genus page.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

None known

Gallery

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External links

• w:Vaccinium ovatum. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Vaccinium ovatum QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)