Appearance
''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is a low spreading deciduous shrub growing up to 50 cm tall, often spreading to form small thickets. The leaves are bright green, paler underneath with velvety hairs. The flowers are white, bell-shaped, 5 mm long. The fruit is a small sweet bright blue to dark blue berry. Young stems have stiff dense bristly hairs.''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' grows best in open coniferous woods with dry loose acidic soils; it is also found in forested bogs and rocky areas. It is fire-tolerant and is often abundant following forest fires or clear-cut logging. ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' hybridizes in the wild with ''Vaccinium angustifolium'' .''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is also cultivated and grown commercially in Canada and Maine, mainly harvested from managed wild patches. ''Vaccinium myrtilloides'' is one of the sweetest blueberries known.
It is also an important food source for black bears, deer, small mammals, and birds.
Status
This species is listed as endangered in Indiana and Connecticut, as threatened in Iowa and Ohio, and as sensitive in Washington .Uses
The Nihithawak Cree use the berries to dye porcupine quills.References:
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