Vaccinium caespitosum Michx., orth. var.
dwarf blueberry (bilberry; dwarf bilberry)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
dwarf blueberry (bilberry; dwarf bilberry)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Low, spreading, matted shrub; stems (5) 10-30 cm tall, rounded, yellowish-green to reddish bark, usually finely hairy.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, thin, prominently net-veined below, oblanceolate to egg-shaped, 1-3 cm long, 2-15 mm wide, tips pointed to blunt, tapered to the base, margins finely toothed in upper half, the teeth usually gland-tipped, light green on both surfaces.
Flowers:
Solitary in leaf axils, nodding; flower stalks short, curved downward; corollas whitish to pink, narrowly tubular urn-shaped, 4-6 mm long, twice as long as wide; calyces obscurely lobed, the lobes very short, deciduous in fruit; filaments glabrous, longer than anthers; anthers awned, with slender terminal tubes.
Fruits:
Berries, nearly globe-shaped, 5-8 mm wide, light blue to blackish-blue with a pale grey bloom; sweet and palatable.
Notes:
A variable species sometimes separated into two or more varieties.
Illustration
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
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Vaccinium caespitosum
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, 2013)
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, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1164 | 6 | 2434 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
12 | 0 | 200 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
196 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
3907 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
SBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(24), BAFA(53), BWBS(323), CMA(15), CWH(106), ESSF(723), ICH(139), IDF(317), IMA(15), MH(74), MS(433), PP(2), SBPS(334), SBS(957), SWB(158) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to wet forests, bogs, meadows, rocky ridges and tundra in the lowland to alpine zones; common throughout BC; N to AK, YT, and NT, E to NF, and S to CA, CO, MN, and NY.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Vaccinium arbuscula (Gray) Merriam
Vaccinium caespitosum var. arbuscula Gray
Vaccinium caespitosum var. caespitosum Michx. [superfluous autonym]
Vaccinium caespitosum var. paludicola (Camp) HultTn
Vaccinium cespitosum Michx.
Vaccinium cespitosum var. arbuscula Gray [orthographic variant]
Vaccinium cespitosum var. cespitosum Michx. [orthographic variant]
Vaccinium cespitosum var. paludicola (Camp) Hulten [orthographic variant]
Vaccinium nivictum Camp