Vaccinium myrtillus L.
low bilberry (dwarf bilberry; whortleberry)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
low bilberry (dwarf bilberry; whortleberry)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Low, many-branched shrub; stems up to 30 cm tall, green to greenish-brown, strongly angled, usually minutely hairy, especially in the grooves.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, egg-shaped to elliptic-lanceolate, 1-3 cm long, light green, margins sharply toothed, tips pointed to blunt, strongly veined with prominent midrib on the lower surfaces.
Flowers:
Solitary in leaf axils; flower stalks nodding, 2-3 mm long; corollas pinkish, urn bell-shaped, about 5 mm long; calyces very shallowly lobed, nearly obsolete; filaments glabrous; anthers with dorsal awns, the pore-bearing terminal tubes about equaling the pollen sacs.
Fruits:
Berries, globe-shaped, 4-8 mm wide, dark red to blue-black; edible and sweetish.
Notes:
Often confused with V. scoparium, however, branches are minutely-hairy and are thicker and less numerous than in V. scoparium, giving it a more open habit. The plant, leaves, and flowers are also larger and the berries darker.
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 myrtillus
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) |
1629 | 6 | 2515 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
30 | 0 | 100 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
15 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
804 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(14), BWBS(6), ESSF(473), ICH(105), IDF(13), MS(121), SBPS(1), SBS(11) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Dry to mesic forests in the montane zone; frequent in SE BC, infrequent in SC BC; circumpolar, E to SW AB, and S to NM; Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Vaccinium myrtillus subsp. oreophilum (Rydb.) A. Löve & D. Löve & Kapoor
Vaccinium myrtillus var. oreophilum (Rydb.) Dorn
Vaccinium oreophilum Rydb.