''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

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

use the berries to dye porcupine quills.

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