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| ## Cascade bilberry {#cascade-bilberry .Title-Header}                 |
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| *Vaccinium deliciosum* Piper                                          |
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| Plant Symbol = VADE                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & Oregon Plant
Materials Center

### 

### Alternate Names

Blue-leaf huckleberry, little huckleberry, Rainer bilberry

### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: Traditionally, Cascade bilberry fruits were eaten raw
and fresh, or were cooked, mashed, and dried in the sun in cakes.
Columbia Plateau Indians of Washington dried surplus berries slowly over
a fire kept smoldering in a rotten log (Filloon 1952). This method of
drying the berries preserves the bulk of the Vitamin C content in the
fruits (Norton et al. 1984:223). The dried berries are sometimes mixed
with pounded salmon and a good portion of salmon oil, making a delicious
dish.

After the huckleberry feast, the *Sahaptin* people of the Columbia
plateau traveled to the productive berry fields higher in the mountains
for a series of day, overnight, or weekend trips. The knowledge of the
location of the berries is part of an Indian family\'s inheritance (Hunn
1990). Special berry picking baskets include \"Klikitat baskets\" of
cedar root decorated with bear grass and bitter cherry bark. Each family
would harvest and store approximately four or five pecks (ca. four to
five gallons) of dried berries for winter use (Perkins n.d. (1838-43),
Book 1:10). Hunn (1990) estimates that there were 28-42 huckleberry
harvest days in a year. This resulted in a total annual harvest of
63.9-80.2 kg/woman/year from the Tenino-Wishram area, and 90
kg/woman/year from the Umatilla area. The net result was a huckleberry
harvest yield of 31 kcal/person/day in the Tenino-Wishram area and 42
kcal/person/day for the Umatilla area (Hunn 1981: 130-131). *Vaccinium*
species contain 622 Kcal per 100 gm huckleberries, with 15.3 gm
carbohydrate, 0.5 gm fat, 0.7 gm protein and 83.2 gm water (Hunn
1981:130-131).

In the fall, after the harvest, it was common for the *Sahaptin* to burn
these areas to create favorable habitat (Henry Lewis 1973, 1977). Fire
creates sunny openings in the forest and edges that foster the rapid
spread of nutritious herbs and shrubs that favors the huckleberries
(Minore 1972:68).

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 bilberry-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, bilberry tea will gradually help alleviate both
glycosuria and hyperglycemia and has a benign 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.

*Other Uses*: Cascade bilberry has a particularly sweet berry, and is
prized for its flavor. The berries are eaten fresh, baked in pancakes,
pies, and muffins, canned, frozen, or made into jams and jellies.
Berries are usually picked in late July or August. The leaves can be
used fresh or dried to make a tea.

Elk and deer browse the foliage of cascade bilberry. Flowers attract
butterflies and other insects. For several species of grouse,
huckleberries and bilberries are among the most important summer and
early fall foods. Chipmunks, black bear, mice, scarlet tanagers,
bluebirds, thrushes, and other songbirds eat berries. Deer and rabbit
browse freely on the plants.

### Description

*General*: Heath Family (Ericaceae). Cascade bilberry is a low, bushy
shrub less that 4-dm tall. The branches are slightly angled; young
branches are grayish and minutely pubescent, turning purplish with age.
The leaves are obovate, 2-4 cm long, finely dentate, very glaucous, and
rounded at the apex. The flowers are solitary, pinkish, urn-shaped
blossoms in the axils of the leaves. The dusky blue berries are \> 9 mm
in diameter.

### Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site. Cascade bilberry grows in alpine
meadows, subalpine coniferous woods, and near the coast at elevations
from 600-2000 m. The range of *Vaccinium deliciosum* is from southern
British Columbia to northern California, in the Klamath Range and the
northern high Sierra Nevada Mountains.

### Establishment

*Live Plant Collections*: Take cuttings from rhizomes in early spring or
late summer and autumn. Dig up the rhizomes and cut them into lengths of
10 cm or longer. Place the cuttings in vermiculite at 21° C. Once the
roots are established and meristematic activity is initiated, the small
cuttings may be moved to individual pots with a peat sand soil mixture
(1:1) potting soil. The soil should be kept fairly moist. When the
plants are of a desired size, they can be planted in areas with moist
soils and partial shade.

*Seed Collections*: Collect the berries in late summer or early fall.
Clean the seeds by macerating in water, floating off the pulp, then
allow the seeds to dry. Seeds require no stratification and can be sown
on a moist peat surface. Temperatures of 18° C (for 12 hours) during the
day and 13° C (for 12 hours) are ideal for germination. Seven weeks
after germination, change temperatures to 20° C (for 14 hours) and 14° C
(for 10 hours). Fertilize seedlings 10 weeks after germination. After
the seedlings are 12 weeks old, transplant to a peat sand (1:1) media in
individual pots (Minore and Smart 1978). The soil should be kept fairly
moist.

### 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*: Management of this plant includes the
following: 1) occasional burning to stimulate new growth; pruning the
branches after picking the berries to stimulate new growth and fruit
production the next growing season; and 3) ownership of cascade bilberry
shrubs provides the basis for careful tending and sustainable yield of
valued resources.

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

This plant is available from some 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*. Stanford Univ. Press, Palo Alto, California.

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*. USDA, Forest Service, Agric. Handbook 450, Washington,
D.C. 883 pp.

Crowley, D.J. 1933. *Observations and experiments with blueberries in
western Washington.* State College of Washington. Agricultural
Experiment Station. Bull. 276. 20 pp.

Filloon, R.M. 1952. *Huckleberry pilgrimage*. Pacific Discovery
5(3):4-13.

Gunther, E. 1945 rev. 1973. *Ethnobotany of western Washington*.
University of Washington Publications in Anthropology, 10(1). University
of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington.

Gilkey, H.M. & L.J. Dennis 1980. *Handbook of northwestern plants*.
Oregon State University Bookstores, Inc., Corvallis, Oregon. 507 pp.

Hickman, J.C. (ed.) 1993. *The Jepson man*ual*. Higher plants of
California*. University of California Press. 1399 pp.

Hunn, E.S. 1990. *Nch\'i-Wana \"The Big River\" Mid-Columbia Indians and
their land.* University of Washington Press, Seattle and London. 378 pp.

Hunn, E.S. 1981. *On the relative contribution of men and women to
subsistence among hunter-gatherers of the Columbia Plateau: A comparison
with ethnographic atlas* *Summaries*. Journal of Ethnobiology 1:124-34.

Isaacson, R.T. 1993. *Anderson horticultural library\'s source list of
plants and seeds*. Anderson Horticultural Library, University of
Minnesota Libraries, and 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
plants.* Environmental Protection Agency, The Washington State
Department of Ecology, and Washington State University Cooperative
Extension.

Lewis, H. 1973. *Patterns of Indian burning in California: Ecology and
ethnohis*tory. Anthropological Papers No. 1. Ballena Press, Ramona,
California.

Lewis, H. 1977. *Maskuta: The ecology of Indian fires in northern
Alberta*. Western Canadian Journal of Anthropology 7:15-52.

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.

Minore, D. & A.W. Smart 1978. *Frost tolerance in seedlings of Vaccinium
membranaceum, Vaccinium globulare, and Vaccinium deliciosum*. Northwest
Science 52(3):179-185.

Minore, D. 1972. *The wild huckleberries of Oregon and Washington - A
dwindling resource*. USDA, Forest Service Research Paper No. 143,
Portland, Oregon.

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

Norton, H.H., E.S. Hunn, C.S. Martinsen, & P.B. Keely 1984. *Vegetable
food products of the foraging economies of the Pacific Northwest*.
Ecology of Food and Nutrition 14:219-228.

Peck, M.E. 1961. *A manual of the higher plants of Oregon*. Binfords &
Mort, Portland, Oregon. 936 pp.

Perkins, H.K.W. no date (1838-1843). \"*Diary and letters*.\" Edited by
Robert T. Boyd. Manuscript, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma,
Washington.

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

Schopmeyer, C.S. 1974. *Seeds of woody plants in the United States*.
USDA, Forest Service, Agriculture Handbook No. 450, Washington, D.C.
Pages 840-843.

Turner, N.J., L.C. Thompson, M.T. Thompson and 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.

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

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

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

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

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.

Young, J.A. & C.G. Young 1987. *Collecting, processing, and germinating
seeds of wildland plants*. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. Page 135.

### Prepared By

*Michelle Stevens*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

*Dale C. Darris*

USDA, NRCS, Oregon 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 04dec00 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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