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.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Flower Colour:
Purple

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Spring to Summer

Source:  The USDA

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Vaccinium coccineum Piper
Vaccinium membranaceum var. rigidum (Hook.) Fernald