Home/Species/ Evergreen Blueberry

Vaccinium ovatum

Pursh

Evergreen Blueberry

G5Secure Found in 32 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

UnknownThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.141944

Element CodePDERI180Q0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderEricales

FamilyEricaceae

GenusVaccinium

Other Common Names

Airelle ovale (FR) California huckleberry (EN) California Huckleberry (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Taxonomic Comments

Flora of North America (2009) does not recognize varieties of Vaccinium ovatum. Kartesz (1994) recognized Vaccinium ovatum var. saporosum.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Biotics v1

Review Date2019-11-26

Change Date2019-11-26

Threat ImpactUnknown

Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences> 300

Rank Reasons

Vaccinium ovatum occurs along the Pacific Coast of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. This species is common in coastal regions, sometimes being a dominant shrub component of its habitat. This species is a popular fruit for humans and other mammals, as well as birds, which disperse the seeds. It is also used in landscaping and the florist industry in floral arrangements and Christmas decor.

Range Extent Comments

Vaccinium ovatum occurs in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California (FNA 2009). It occurs in the Cascades, the Coast Ranges, and the central Sierra Nevada (Tirmenstein 1990).

Occurrences Comments

Based on herbarium and observation records, there are likely well over 400 occurrences known.

Threat Impact Comments

This species is harvested for the florist trade but the impact of that harvest from the wild is not known.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Vaccinium ovatum occurs at the edges of coniferous forests and on the trunks of redwoods, as an epiphyte (FNA 2009). It is an understory dominant or codominant of various conifer forests and coastal headland shrub communities. It grows in acidic soils ranging in pH of 4.3 to 5.2 (Tirmenstein 1990).

Reproduction

This species is an important food source for elk and the berries are eaten by birds and mammals, who disperse the seeds. The species also spreads vegetatively (Tirmenstein 1990).

Terrestrial Habitats

Forest/WoodlandForest - ConiferWoodland - ConiferShrubland/chaparral

Other Nations (2)

United StatesN5

Province	Rank	Native
Oregon	SNR	Yes
California	SNR	Yes
Washington	SNR	Yes

CanadaN5

Province	Rank	Native
British Columbia	S5	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
5 - Biological resource use	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)
5.1 - Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)
5.1.1 - Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Unknown	Unknown	High (continuing)

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL, Long-lived, EVERGREEN

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (32)

Alaska (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Outer Islands	Tongass National Forest	99,862

California (12)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Mountain	Los Padres National Forest	913
Blue Creek Rare I	Six Rivers National Forest	12,134
Camuesa	Los Padres National Forest	8,209
Kelly	Six Rivers National Forest	5,195
Monkey Creek	Six Rivers National Forest	9,017
North Fork Smith	Six Rivers National Forest	37,898
Orleans Mtn.	Klamath National Forest	49,090
Orleans Mtn. B	Six Rivers National Forest	17,183
Packsaddle	Six Rivers National Forest	3,862
Siskiyou	Klamath National Forest	54,039
Siskiyou B	Six Rivers National Forest	18,871
Slide Creek	Six Rivers National Forest	11,458

Idaho (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bear Creek	Caribou-Targhee National Forest	118,582

Oregon (10)

Area	Forest	Acres
Drift Creek	Siuslaw National Forest	6,333
North Kalmiopsis	Siskiyou National Forests	91,560
Salmon - Huckleberry	Mt. Hood National Forest	17,570
Shasta Costa	Siskiyou National Forests	14,420
Smith Umpqua	Siuslaw National Forest	7,622
South Kalmiopsis	Siskiyou National Forests	104,477
Tahkenitch	Siuslaw National Forest	5,799
Tenmile	Siuslaw National Forest	10,818
Umpqua Spit	Siuslaw National Forest	2,090
Woahink	Siuslaw National Forest	5,309

Texas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Big Creek	National Forests in Texas	1,447

Washington (7)

Area	Forest	Acres
Green Mountain	Olympic National Forest	4,617
Jefferson Ridge	Olympic National Forest	6,512
Jupiter Ridge	Olympic National Forest	10,148
Lightning	Olympic National Forest	7,179
Mt. Baldy	Olympic National Forest	3,557
Quilcene	Olympic National Forest	18,656
South Quinault	Olympic National Forest	11,081

References (3)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2009. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 8. Magnoliophyta: Paeoniaceae to Ericaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 585 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Tirmenstein, D. 1990. <i>Vaccinium ovatum</i>. In: Fire Effects Information System. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Online. Available: https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/vacova/all.html (accessed 2019).

Vaccinium ovatum

Habitat

Reproduction

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