WALLACE W HANSEN

Native Plants of the Northwest

Native Plant Nursery & Gardens

2158 Bower Ct S.E., Salem, Oregon 97317-9216

E-Mail: Wallace W Hansen
Phone: 503-581-2638; Fax: 503-549-8739

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Vaccinium - Native Huckleberries

Family: Ericaceae

The genus Vaccinium includes huckleberries, blueberries and cranberries. I note that Hitchcock & Cronquist (Flora of the Pacific Northwest) list 13 species in the Vaccinium genus. Know and enjoy and be proud of your Northwest Native Vaccinium Huckleberry!

I grow nine "huckleberries" found in the NW. One species, Vaccinium ovatum, is evergreen. The others are deciduous. All have edible, round berries. The red huckleberry is a bit on the "tart" side for flavor. The remainder have a sweet, unique huckleberry flavor, not found elsewhere. How does one describe the huckleberry flavor? I think of the word "muskie." Musk comes from musk deer and is used in perfume making. This would be a smell, but I am talking flavor here. Anyway, when you taste huckleberries or eat a huckleberry pie, you know what I mean!

I discuss nine NW huckleberries below. I grow hucks from seed. If any of you have experience with the other Northwest Native Vaccinium Huckleberry, please email me! (Any comments or information interchange on vacciniums will be appreciated.)

Most species are excellent for ornamental use, especially V. parvifolium and V. ovatum. Flowers on vacciniums are pink/white or white, small and urn shaped. They cluster together.

Vaccinium ovalifolium (Oval Leaf Huckleberry)

Photo by JoAnn Onstott

Click on picture for large view

Huckleberries are the gourmet berry of the Northwest - very special and hard to buy anyplace. They should be in every native plant garden. It will be well worth your while to get acquainted with the NW Native Hucks and grow them for your enjoyment (and the enjoyment of your friends (two legged), four legged, wings or whatever!)

Vaccinium caespitosum (DWARF HUCKLEBERRY, DWARF BILBERRY)

A short deciduous huckleberry, about 12" tall. Found from Alaska south in the Olympic and Cascade Mountains and into California. Also found above timberline in Montana meadows and slopes.

Photo by JoAnn Onstott

Vaccinium globulare (GLOBE HUCKLEBERRY)

A scarce, deciduous huckleberry with blue-purple berries, often found with Mountain Huckleberries. Found in mountains in Washington and Oregon and east into Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

Drawing by Marci Degman

Vaccinium membranaceum (MOUNTAIN HUCKLEBERRY, BLACK HUCKLEBERRY, BIG WHORTLEBERRY)

A deciduous shrub found in the mountains. Does OK at lower elevations. Delicious black fruit for pies and jam. A favorite of Native Americans, it was gathered and dried as a major food. The Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon has huge areas of this berry. I understand the going price for fresh Mountain Hucks by local gathers is $20 per quart. I do not think it is grown commercially - perhaps the cost of production exceeds the market value. From 1 ft to 5 ft high. Berries about 1/4 inch, Found from Alaska to Southern California and east to Montana.

Photo by JoAnn Onstott

A mountain blueberry found in British Columbia and throughout the Western United States especially in the Rocky Mountain region, USDA zones 4-10. It is even better known in Europe where it is used as a commercial berry. It has a history of medicinal use and there is ongoing research to prove its benefits against diseases of the cardiovascular system. As an edible berry, it is already proven and is good for jams, jellies, and pies and is high in vitamin C. In most situations, it is semi-deciduous, has pink to red bell shaped flowers, and sweet red to blue berries. This is a tough compact 18” shrub great for exposed rocky sites.

Vintage botanical print

Vaccinium ovatum (EVERGREEN HUCKLEBERRY)

 A superb evergreen shrub. This is a first class ornamental shrub for the native garden. The delicious fruit for pies, jam and unique topping is an added bonus. Sun or shade. In the forest areas, can get to 15 ft. In full sun, dwarfs to 3-5 feet, with many erect stems from the base. Small glossy dark green leaves. In sun, mature foliage often turns reddish purple. New shoots are a bronzy red. Profuse small pink-white bell-like flowers. Small black-purple fruits. Likes acid soil. A must for native gardens. Found along the coast from British Columbia to Northern California. Drive along the coast highway in Western Oregon and you will see them at every stop! Considered a very fine ornamental (and edible!)

Photo by JoAnn Onstott

Vaccinium parvifolium (RED HUCKLEBERRY)

A fine, deciduous shrub, 3-12 feet, wide-spread in the Northwest. Small greenish to flesh-colored flowers. Small oval leaves. Fruits are an attractive salmon-egg red, very tasty (tart). Northwest Native Americans much preferred Mountain Hucks. Partial shade. Good next to the Pacific Rhodie. Often grows on logs and stumps, courtesy of birds. (Use rotted fir log when planting!) This is a fine ornamental - also used in floral arrangements. Widely used in Europe. Found in lowlands and lower mountains, from British Columbia to Northern California, west side of Cascade Mountains.

Photo by JoAnn Onstott

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 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 by JoAnn Onstott

Wild and Wonderful Oregon Huckleberries!

In our very first online magazine, Northwest Native Plant Journal, we feature an article by Dr. Nellie Stark titled Wild and Wonderful Oregon Huckleberries. Dr. Stark is a Forest Ecologist living in Oregon, has done considerable research in Vacciniums. She is the author of a book on huckleberries, The Ecology and Culture of Montana Huckleberries.

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