Bog blueberry • Vaccinium uliginosum • Heiltsuk/Haíɫzaqv - siák̓vṇat
{Blueberry = from blaeberry (Scottish), and blae (probably Scandinavian) which means 'blue-black'}
Photos by Julia Fisher (bottom right and left), Georgia Brander (top left), and Kira Hoffman (top right).
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Identification
Bog blueberry is a low-lying shrub that may spread across the ground and form mats, or may grow upright. It reaches 30 cm in height and is freely branched. Young branches are yellowish-green, and older ones are greyish-red. The deciduous leaves alternate along branches, and have a green upper surface with a pale underside strongly marked with veins. The leaves are elliptic to oval in shape and widest near the tip (not the middle), are 1-3 cm long, and don't have teeth. The flowers are pink and urn-shaped with 4 lobes (sometimes 5), and are 5-6 mm long. They grow individually or in clumps of 2-4. The berries are blue, up to 1 cm wide, and are covered in a waxy powder. Bog blueberry is sometimes separated into two subspecies that have slightly different leaf textures and different ranges. See the E-Flora species page for more information.
Habitat & Range
Bog blueberry grows in bogs, heath, thickets, meadows, and rocky tundra from low to alpine elevations. One subspecies (Vaccinium uliginosum ssp. occidentale) is common along the BC coast, while the other (V. u. ssp. pubescens) is common in northern BC. Bog blueberry's western range stretches north to Alaska and Yukon Territory and south to northern California. It is also found throughout much of northern North America (see species range map) as well as Eurasia.
Similar Species
Dwarf blueberry (V. caespitosum) is found in similar habitats and reaches approximately the same size as bog blueberry; however its leaves are longer and thinner, have toothed edges, and are bright green on both sides. Its flowers are also urn shaped, but are narrower than bog blueberry flowers. Oval-leaved blueberry (V. ovalifolium) is a larger shrub overall, and bears pinkish-white urn- to egg-shaped flowers that usually appear on the plant before the leaves. Alaskan blueberry (V. alaskaense) is also larger, and has bronze to pinkish-green flowers.
Human Uses
Bog blueberries are edible. They have a sweet taste, and are a traditional food for coastal First Nations. They are also a key traditional food source for Indigenous peoples of northern Canada and Alaska.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/64714-Vaccinium-uliginosum
Bog blueberry is a low-lying shrub that may spread across the ground and form mats, or may grow upright. It reaches 30 cm in height and is freely branched. Young branches are yellowish-green, and older ones are greyish-red. The deciduous leaves alternate along branches, and have a green upper surface with a pale underside strongly marked with veins. The leaves are elliptic to oval in shape and widest near the tip (not the middle), are 1-3 cm long, and don't have teeth. The flowers are pink and urn-shaped with 4 lobes (sometimes 5), and are 5-6 mm long. They grow individually or in clumps of 2-4. The berries are blue, up to 1 cm wide, and are covered in a waxy powder. Bog blueberry is sometimes separated into two subspecies that have slightly different leaf textures and different ranges. See the E-Flora species page for more information.
Habitat & Range
Bog blueberry grows in bogs, heath, thickets, meadows, and rocky tundra from low to alpine elevations. One subspecies (Vaccinium uliginosum ssp. occidentale) is common along the BC coast, while the other (V. u. ssp. pubescens) is common in northern BC. Bog blueberry's western range stretches north to Alaska and Yukon Territory and south to northern California. It is also found throughout much of northern North America (see species range map) as well as Eurasia.
Similar Species
Dwarf blueberry (V. caespitosum) is found in similar habitats and reaches approximately the same size as bog blueberry; however its leaves are longer and thinner, have toothed edges, and are bright green on both sides. Its flowers are also urn shaped, but are narrower than bog blueberry flowers. Oval-leaved blueberry (V. ovalifolium) is a larger shrub overall, and bears pinkish-white urn- to egg-shaped flowers that usually appear on the plant before the leaves. Alaskan blueberry (V. alaskaense) is also larger, and has bronze to pinkish-green flowers.
Human Uses
Bog blueberries are edible. They have a sweet taste, and are a traditional food for coastal First Nations. They are also a key traditional food source for Indigenous peoples of northern Canada and Alaska.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/64714-Vaccinium-uliginosum
References
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 58.
Vaccinium uliginosum L. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 17/04/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 58.
Vaccinium uliginosum L. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 17/04/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2014).