Hansen's Northwest Native Plant Database


Vaccinium scoparium (Grouseberry, Red Alpine Blueberry)

Kingdom

 Plantae – Plants

Subkingdom

 Tracheobionta – Vascular plants

Superdivision

 Spermatophyta – Seed plants

Division

 Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants

Class

 Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons

Subclass

 Dilleniidae

Order

 Ericales

Family

 Ericaceae – Heath family

Genus

 Vaccinium L. – blueberry

Species

 Vaccinium scoparium Leiberg ex Coville – grouse whortleberry

This plant could easily be considered a groundcover never reaching more than 1’ in height.

It grows well at sub alpine elevations in Canada and across the western United States, USDA zones 3-9.

Grouseberry does especially well in open forests like that of Lodge Pole Pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) and on dry rocky slopes.

The pointed leaves are small and borne on strongly angled stems.

The small pink urn shaped flowers and tiny red berries are sometimes easy to miss among the dense foliage.

This shrub can fill in difficult bare exposed areas well.

Photo below left by JW Stockert, National Park Service

For a short comparison of northwest native huckleberry family plants, click here.

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