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| ## Evergreen huckleberry {#evergreen-huckleberry .Title-Header}       |
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| *Vaccinium ovatum* Pursh                                              |
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| Plant Symbol = VAOV2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & Oregon Plant
Materials Center

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# Alternate Names

California huckleberry, shot huckleberry, huckleberry, winter
huckleberry, evergreen huckleberry

# 

# Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: Tribes in British Columbia and western Washington use
the berries of evergreen huckleberry. These tribes include the Sechelt,
Comox, Straits, Halkomelem, Lower Nlaka\'pamux Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth
(Vancouver Island\'s West Coast), and the Quinault of Washington.
Evergreen huckleberries were well liked and people often traveled great
distances to obtain them. The berries ripen late in the year, around
October or November. They are the last fruits to be gathered in the
season round and are said to be even tastier after freezing. The berries
are eaten fresh, usually with oil. The berries are also sun or smoke
dried, partly mashed, pressed into cake form, and wrapped in leaves or
bark. Today they are made into jam or used in cooking.

The leaves and berries are high in vitamin C. The leaves and finely
chopped stems contain quinic acid, a former therapeutic for gout said to
inhibit uric acid formation but never widely used because of mixed
clinical results. The leaves have been widely used to lower or modify
blood sugar levels. Many herbalists maintain that huckleberry leaf tea
may be useful in stabilizing blood sugar levels in cases of diabetes,
and medical research has shown that consumption of the leaf extract
decreases blood sugar levels shortly after administration. Taken on
regular basis, huckleberry tea will gradually help alleviate both
glycosuria and hyperglycemia and appears to have a beginning, but useful
effect as an adjunct treatment to diabetes mellitus. The leaves are
believed also to stimulate appetite, and have astringent and antiseptic
qualities that are useful in urinary disorders.

*Horticulture*: Evergreen huckleberry is an excellent horticultural
choice due to its beautiful, glossy, evergreen foliage and tolerance of
a wide range of light levels. The foliage is often used in flower
arrangements.

*Wildlife & Livestock*: The foliage of evergreen huckleberry is browsed
by elk and deer. Flowers attract butterflies. For several species of
grouse, huckleberries are among the most important summer and early fall
foods. Berries are eaten by chipmunks, black bear, mice, scarlet
tanagers, bluebirds, thrushes, and other songbirds. Deer and rabbit
browse freely on the plants. Because of their food value to wildlife and
their dense shrubby growth, evergreen huckleberry is worthy of inclusion
in hedgerows.

In some localities goats and deer crop evergreen huckleberry rather
closely, utilizing 30 to 40 % of the leafage and current twigs. Sheep
crop it somewhat less closely but it enters into their diet to a
considerable extent in late summer and autumn. The browse rating is fair
to poor for sheep, goats, and deer; poor to useless to cattle; and
useless for horses.

# Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

# Description

*General*: Heath Family (Ericaceae). This erect, evergreen shrub is
stout, from 0.5-3 m tall. The glossy green leaf blades are 2-5 cm,
ovate, leathery, serrate, with glandular hairs on the lower surface. The
umbel-like inflorescence emerges from the leaf axils. Urn-shaped flowers
are bright pink. The berries are 6-9 mm, purplish-black. Evergreen
huckleberry does not generally root easily.

# Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. Evergreen huckleberry grows from the
west side of the Cascades in Washington to the coast of British
Columbia, to the redwood area of California. It is sporadic south to
Santa Barbara, California and in the coast ranges to the central Sierra
Nevada Mountains.

##### 

# Establishment

*Adaptation*: *Vaccinium ovatum* grows in edges and clearings of
coniferous woods, at elevations from 3-800 m. Evergreen huckleberry can
also be found near beaches in the salt spray zone. This huckleberry
grows in moist to slightly dry soils. It will grow in full sun to full
shade, although the plants prefer some shade.

*Propagation*: Evergreen huckleberry can be difficult to propagate or
transplant, but it is available in some nurseries. It can be grown from
cuttings, from seed, or by layering. Huckleberry cuttings should be
taken while the plant is dormant, from November to April. Their rooting
success is fairly sporadic.

Evergreen huckleberry requires excessive drainage and acidic soils to
become established. It does best in full or partial shade; it may
tolerate morning and winter sun.

*Live Plant Collections*: Evergreen huckleberry is propagated by
cuttings from fully matured shoots taken in fall and winter, when the
plant is dormant. Cuttings made from the previous year\'s growth taken
the third week in April rooted 100% (Vancouver, B.C.). Application of
0.3 to 0.4% IBA talc to the freshly cut stem surface and basal heat
(21°C; 70° F) to potted plants will enhance rooting.

Young plants can be salvaged, but they should be transplanted when they
are less than one foot tall. Frequently, these small plants will turn
out to be new shoots of a mature plant reviving from deer browsing or
logging, and will die from lack of roots.

*Seed Collections*: Berries should be collected when they are ripe (from
August to September or later). The blue-black fruit is easily collected
by hand picking or by beating the bush over a large bucket. Following
collection, chill the fruit at 10°C for several days. Clean seeds by
macerating and floating off the pulp and unsound seed. Clean seeds
carefully; they are minuscule, so you may want to use pantyhose or
cheesecloth to strain the seed from the pulp.

Seeds dried at 15-21°C for two days can be stored in a refrigerator for
up to 12 years. Fresh seeds not planted in the fall may germinate better
if cold stratified for 1-3 months. Stored seeds germinates well when
exposed to alternating temperature and light regimes of 28°C light for
14 hours a day and 13°C dark for 10 hours.

Fresh or stored and cold-stratified seeds can be sown directly into
flats or small pots (a salt shaker can be used for sowing). Plant in a
mixture of sand and peat moss. Seedlings will begin to emerge in a month
and will continue to emerge for a long period thereafter. Transplant
seedlings into larger pots 6 to 7 weeks after emergence. Plant outside
after the first growing season. Seedlings are slow growing, and it may
take 2-3 years for a nursery-sized plant to develop.

# Management

This plant grows very rapidly in moist, shady conditions. If summer
drought occurs, the plants should be watered so roots are kept fairly
moist.

*Traditional Resource Management*: This includes the following: 1)
occasional burning to stimulate new growth; 2) pruning the branches
after picking the berries to stimulate new growth and fruit production
the next growing season; and 3) ownership of red huckleberry shrubs
provides the basis for careful tending and sustainable yield of valued
resources.

# Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

This species is readily available from native plant nurseries within its
range. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service
(formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look
in the phone book under "United States Government." The Natural
Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading
"Department of Agriculture."

# References

Abrams, L. & R.S. Ferris 1960. *Illustrated flora of the Pacific
states*. 4 Vols. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, California.

Barton, B.J. 1997. *Gardening by mail. A source book*. A Mariner Book.
Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston and New York.

Cooke, S.S. 1997. *A field guide to the common wetland plants of western
Washington and northwestern Oregon*. Seattle Audubon Society and
Washington Native Plant Society. 414 pp.

Crossley, J.A. 1974. *Vaccinium L. blueberry*. pp. 840-843 IN:
Shopmeyer, C.S. (tech. coord.) 1974. Seeds of the Woody Plants in the
United States. Agric. Handbook 450. Washington, D.C. USDA, Forest
Service. 883 pp.

Gunther, E. 1973. *Ethnobotany of western Washington*. University of
Washington Publications in Anthropology, 10(1). University of Washington
Press, Seattle, Washington.

Harrington, H.D. 1972. *Western edible wild pl*ants. The University of
New Mexico Press. 156 pp.

Hartmann, H.T., D.E. Kester, & F.T. Davies, Jr. 1990. *Plant propagation
principles and practices*. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Hitchcock, C.L. & A. Cronquist 1973. *Pacific Northwest flora*.
University of Washington Press, Seattle and London. 730 pp.

Isaacson, R.T. 1993. *Anderson horticultural library\'s source list of
plants and seeds.* Anderson Horticultural Library. University of
Minnesota Libraries. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. 261 pp.

Kunlein, H.V. & N.J. Turner 1991. *Traditional plant foods of Canadian
indigenous peoples.* *Nutrition, botany, and use*. Food and Nutrition in
History and Anthropology Volume 8. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.
632 pp.

Leigh, M. (August) 1997. *Grow your own native landscape: A guide to
identifying, propagating, and landscaping with western Washington native
pla*nts. Environmental Protection Agency, The Washington State
Department of Ecology, and Washington State University Cooperative
Extension.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits*. Dover Publications, Inc., New
York, New York. 500 pp.

Moore, M. 1979. *Medicinal plants of the mountain west*. Museum of New
Mexico Press. 200 pp.

Rose, R., C.E.C. Chachulski, & D. Haase 1998. *Propagation of Pacific
Northwest native plants.* Oregon State University Press, Corvallis,
Oregon.

Sampson, A.W. & B.S. Jespersen 1981. *California range brushlands and
browse plants*. Division of Agricultural Sciences, University of
California, Berkeley, California. 162 pp.

Schlick, M.D. 1994. *Columbia River basketry*. *Gift of the ancestors,
gift of the Earth*. University of Washington Press, Seattle and London.
232 pp.

Schopmeyer, C.S. (Tech. Coord.) 1974. *Seeds of woody plants in the
United States*. Agriculture Handbook No. 450. USDA, Forest Service,
Washington, D.C.

Stevens, M. & R. Vanbianchi 1993. *Restoring wetlands in Washington. A
guidebook for wetland restoration, planning and implementation*.
Washington State Department of Ecology. Publication #93-17.

Turner, N.J., L.C. Thompson, M.T. Thompson & A.Z. York 1990. *Thompson
ethnobotany: Knowledge and usage of plants by the Thompson Indians of
British Columbia*. Royal British Columbia Museum Memoirs No. 3,
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Turner, N.J., J. Thomas, B.F. Carlson & R.T. Ogilvie 1983. *Ethnobotany
of the Nitinaht Indians of Vancouver Island*. British Columbia
Provincial Museum, Occasional Paper No. 24. 165 pp.

Turner, N.J. & B.S. Efrat *1982*. *Ethnobotany of the Hesquiat Indians
of Vancouver Island*. B.C. Provincial Museum Cultural Recovery Paper No.
2. 99 pp.

Turner, N.J. 1978. *Food plant of British Columbia Indians*. *Part II.
Interior peoples*. British Columbia Provincial Museum Handbook No. 36,
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Turner, N.J. 1975. *Food plants of British Columbia Indians. Part I.
Coastal Peoples*. British Columbia Provincial Museum Handbook No. 34,
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Vanbianchi, R., M. Stevens, T. Sullivan & S. Hashisaki 1994. *A
citizen\'s guide to wetland restoration.* U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 10. 71 pp.

# Prepared By

*Michelle Stevens*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

*Dale C. Darris*

USDA, NRCS, Plant Materials Center, Corvallis, Oregon

# Species Coordinator

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis,
California

Edited: 17jan01 jsp; 060818 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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