''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a shrub with common names including common blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry, velvetleaf blueberry, Canadian blueberry, and sourtop blueberry. It is common in much of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, reported from all 10
Canadian provinces
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
plus
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
and
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
, as well as from the northeastern and
Great Lakes states in the United States. It is also known to occur in
Montana and
Washington.
Description
''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a low spreading
deciduous shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
growing up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall, often spreading to form small thickets. The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are bright green, paler underneath with velvety hairs. The flowers are white, bell-shaped, 5 mm (0.2 inches) long. The
fruit is a small sweet bright blue to dark blue berry. Young stems have stiff dense bristly hairs.
''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' grows best in open
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
ous woods with dry loose acidic soils; it is also found in forested
bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s and rocky areas. It is fire-tolerant and is often abundant following
forest fire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...
s or
clear-cut logging. ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' hybridizes in the wild with ''
Vaccinium angustifolium'' (lowbush blueberry).
Characteristics
''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is also cultivated and grown commercially in Canada and
Maine, mainly harvested from managed wild patches. ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is one of the sweetest blueberries known.
It is also an important food source for
black bears,
deer, small mammals, and birds.
Conservation Status in the United States
This species is listed as endangered in
Indiana and
Connecticut, as threatened in
Iowa and
Ohio, and as sensitive in
Washington (state).
Native American Ethnobotany
As cuisine
The
Abenaki consume the fruit as part of their traditional diet. The Nihithawak
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
eat the berries raw, make them into jam and eat it with fish and
bannock, and boil or pound the sun-dried berries into
pemmican.
[Leighton, Anna L., 1985, Wild Plant Use by the Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 63] The
Hesquiaht First Nation
The Hesquiaht First Nation (pronounced Hesh-kwit or Hes-kwee-at) is a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations band government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The Hesquiaht First Nation are members of the Nuu-chah- ...
make pies and preserves from the berries. The
Hoh and
Quileute consume the fruit raw, stew the berries and make them into a sauce, and can the berries and use them as a winter food. The
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
make use of the berries, gathering and selling them, eating them fresh, sun drying and canning them for future use. The
Nlaka'pamux make the berries into pies. The
Algonquin people
The Algonquin people are an Indigenous people who now live in Eastern Canada. They speak the Algonquin language, which is part of the Algonquian language family. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa, Potawato ...
gather the fruit to eat and sell. The berries are part of
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
traditional cuisine, and are eaten fresh, dried, and canned.
As medicine
The Nihithawak
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
use a
decoction of leafy stems used to bring menstruation and prevent pregnancy, to make a person sweat, to slow excessive menstrual bleeding, to bring blood after childbirth, and to prevent miscarriage.
The Potawatomi also use the root bark of the plant for an unspecified ailment.
[Smith, Huron H., 1933, Ethnobotany of the Forest Potawatomi Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 7:1-230, page 57]
Other uses
The Nihithawak
Cree
The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
use the berries to dye
porcupine quills.
See also
*
Vaccinium
*
Huckleberry
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3017539
myrtilloides
Plants described in 1803
Blueberries
Flora of Western Canada
Plants used in Native American cuisine
Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
Flora of Eastern Canada
Flora of Subarctic America
Flora of the Northeastern United States
Flora of the North-Central United States
Flora of Montana