Distribution of Vaccinium membranaceum in British Columbia.
(Please note that these maps show a summary of all available distribution
data, and that not all data is vetted. Visit our About the Data page to
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General: Medium-sized shrub; stems erect to spreading, densely-branched, to 1.5 m tall; young twigs somewhat angled, yellow-green, glabrous or slightly hairy; old bark greyish and shredding.
Leaves: Alternate, deciduous, egg-shaped to elliptic-oblong, 1.5-6 cm long, (0.6) 1-3 cm wide, gradually narrowing to pointed tip, rounded to tapered at base, margins finely toothed nearly full length, obscurely veined and not lustrous, sparsely glandular and somewhat paler on the lower surfaces.
Flowers: Solitary in leaf axils, appearing when or after the leaves expand; flower stalks 5-10 mm long; corollas pale yellowish-pink, urn-shaped, 4-6 mm long, about 3/4 as wide; calyces shallowly lobed, lobes deciduous in fruit; filaments glabrous, shorter than anthers; anthers awned, with slender, terminal tubes.
Fruits: Berries, globe-shaped, 7-10 mm wide, purple or dark purplish-reddish, without a pale bloom; edible and sweet.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2008)
A shade-tolerant/intolerant, montane to subalpine, Western North American deciduous shrub distributed more in the Cordilleran than the Pacific region (reported in the Central region). Occurs in boreal and cool temperate climates on moderately dry to fresh, nitrogenÂpoor soils; its occurrence increases with increasing elevation and continentality.
Source: Indicator Plants of Coastal British Columbia (Indicator Information applies to coastal locations only)
HABITAT/RANGE
Dry to moist forests and openings in the montane and subalpine zones; common throughout BC, except on the Queen Charlotte Islands; N to SE YT, E to AB, and S to ID, MT, and N CA.
Invasive Status: Vaccinium membranaceum is not invasive.
Note:
Species currently listed as "invasive" on the E-Flora BC atlas pages come from
a comprehensive list of invasive and noxious species for BC compiled by E-Flora BC.
Note that a species can be alien to the province but not considered invasive.
Visit E-Flora BC's
list of invasive, alien and noxious species in BC for more details.
MEDICINAL AND POISONOUS PLANT
INFORMATION
Species not indicated as poisonous in our database.
Please cite these pages as: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2009. E-Flora BC:
Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for
Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed:
11/21/2009 3:01:23 PM]
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