Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Weyand, Phyllis

Vaccinium ovalifolium

Vaccinium ovalifolium Sm.

Oval-leaf Blueberry

Ericaceae (Heath Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: VAOV

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), AK (N), CAN (N)

A 2-4 ft. blueberry with large, oval leaves. Flowers occur singly from leaf axils, hanging from a long pedicel. Flowers are bell-shaped and bronzy-pink. They are succeeded by glaucous or non-glaucous, bluish to black, edible berries.

From the Image Gallery

8 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Shrub
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Fruit Type: Berry
Size Notes: Up to about 4 feet tall.
Leaf: Green
Fruit: Blue, dull purplish black or black.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Pink
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug
Bloom Notes: Pink, bronze-pink or greenish white.

Distribution

USA: AK , ID , MI , MT , OR , SD , WA
Canada: BC , NL , NS , ON
Native Distribution: Along the coast and in the Cascades from n.w. OR to AK
Native Habitat: Conifer forests

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist , Wet
CaCO3 Tolerance: Low
Soil Description: Moist, acid soils.

Benefit

Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Attracts: Birds

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Propagation

Description: Vaccinium species are propagated by seeds, cuttings and rooted suckers of offshoots.
Seed Treatment: Dormancy varies. Cold-moist stratification may be necessary.
Commercially Avail: yes

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:		FAC	UPL						FACU	UPL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Vaccinium ovalifolium in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Vaccinium ovalifolium in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Vaccinium ovalifolium

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-03-01
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back