Vaccinium ovatum

Vaccinium ovatum is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names evergreen huckleberry and California huckleberry.

Distribution and ecology

It is a small to medium sized evergreen shrub native to the Pacific Northwest of the United States and into British Columbia. Typical flora associates are such plants as Coastal woodfern, Dryopteris arguta and Thimbleberry, Rubus parviflorus.

Growth

It is a true huckleberry plant, growing well in shade or sun and thriving in acidic soils. Not needing much sun, the plant has a wide variety of forest homes; it is often seen sprouting out of old Coast Redwood stumps or dense brambles of other forest growths. The shiny, alternately arranged leaves are 2 to 3 centimeters long and about a centimeter wide with finely serrated edges. During the summer the plant produces round, edible black berries up to a centimeter in diameter. Traditionally these berries were sought after and collected by many Native American tribes along the Pacific coast in the region.