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Oval-leaf blueberry

Vaccinium ovalifolium

Also called Alaska blueberry, Early blueberry, Oval-leaved blueberry, Oval Leaf Bilberry, Oval Leaf Huckleberry, Oval Leaved Bilberry, Oval Leaved Huckleberry

Oval-leaf blueberry
Photo: Walter Siegmund (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0

Oval-leaf blueberry is a spreading, cold-hardy shrub in the heath family that grows to about 2 metres and bears dark blue edible berries. It thrives in cool, moist, acidic conditions similar to its northern native habitat.

Family
Ericaceae (Heather family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged, especially during fruiting.
Soil
Acidic, humus-rich, well-drained soil (pH about 4.5 to 5.5).
Temperature
Hardy to about -30 °C; prefers cool summers and protection from hot, dry afternoon sun.
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Russian Far East to Japan, Subarctic America to N. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Vaccinium ovalifolium (commonly known as Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf bilberry, oval-leaf blueberry, and oval-leaf huckleberry) is a plant in the heath family with three varieties, all of which grow in northerly regions.

Where it grows

The original variety (i.e. the automatically named V. o. var. ovalifolium) is found on both the eastern and western sides of the Pacific Ocean. In North America, it is distributed throughout Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, southern Ontario, southeast Quebec, and southern Yukon) and the United States (southern Alaska, Idaho, northern Michigan, Oregon, western South Dakota, and Washington).

Uses

V. ovalifolium is used in jams and jellies and for making liqueur. Blueberry herbal tea can be made from the leaves, or from the juice of the blueberries themselves, which are edible.

Other Vaccinium plants

Lowbush blueberry · Farkleberry · Northern blueberry · Sea bilberry · New Jersey blueberry · Dwarf bilberry · Highbush blueberry · Creeping blueberry · Azorean Bilberry · Darrow's blueberry · Elliott's blueberry · Southern mountain cranberry

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Vaccinium ovalifolium by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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