Vaccinium parvifolium Sm.
red huckleberry
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Dave Ingram     (Photo ID #6067)

Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Vaccinium parvifolium
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Species Information

General:
Erect shrub; stems 1-4 m tall, bright green, very prominently angled, glabrous or minutely hairy when young.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous (often some persistent), oval to oblong-elliptic, 0.9-3 cm long, 0.4-1.6 cm wide, entire, glabrous to minutely hairy, tips usually rounded; juvenile leaves persistent, dark green, finely toothed.
Flowers:
Solitary in leaf axils; flower stalks 2-8 mm long; corollas yellowish-pink, waxy, broadly bell- to urn-shaped, 4-5 mm long; calyces shallowly lobed, the lobes persistent in fruit; filaments glabrous; anthers with prominent spreading awns, the apical pore-bearing tubes short.
Fruits:
Berries, globe-shaped, 6-10 mm wide, bright red; edible, often tart.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present over the Summer
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Vaccinium parvifolium

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)
 282 0 1850
Slope Gradient (%)
 26 0 410

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

 232 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		4 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
 C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
 4860
Modal BEC Zone Class
 CWH

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

 CDF(163), CMA(1), CWH(4233), ESSF(7), ICH(123), IDF(45), MH(157), MS(1), SBS(15)

Habitat and Range

Dry to moist forests and on decaying wood in the lowland and montane zones; common in W BC, mainly west of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, infrequent in SE BC; N to SE AK and S to CA.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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