200 



American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



leaves oval to egg-shaped, 1 to 2 inches long, pointed at the tips, dull green 

 above, whitish below, smooth at least above; flowers white or tinged with red, 

 the calyx usually reddish; berries blue with a bloom, about ^ inch in diameter. 

 (Syn. V. vacillans Kalm. var. crinatum Fern.) 



Occurrence. — isle ROYALE: Rock Harbor; Sccville Point. 



Fig. 119. Bog bilberry {Vaccinium 

 uliginosum) . 



7. Bog Bilberry (Vaccinium uli- 

 ginosum L.), fig. 119. — Low shrub up 

 to about I1/2 feet high, the branches 

 smooth or slightly hairy, not angled; 

 leaves oval to reverse-egg-shaped, % to 



1 inch long, pale or whitish on both 

 sides, slightly hairy below; flowers white 

 or pink, borne singly or in groups of 



2 or 3; berries blue-black with a bloom, 



i/^ inch in diameter, sweet. 



Occurrence. — isle royale, common in 

 rock crevices and along margins of rock 

 pools: Mott Island; Scoville Point. 



8. Western Bog Blueberry ( Vac- 

 cinium occidentale Gray) . — Compact 

 shrub 1 to 3 feet high; leaves oblong to 

 narrowly wedge-shaped, not toothed, 

 more or less pointed at the tips, i/^ to 1 

 inch long, green above, paler below; 

 flowers white, small, narrowly bell- 

 shaped, borne singly or in groups of 2 to 4; berries ^4 i^ich or less in diameter, 

 blue-black with a bloom, sweet but with a slightly bitter quality. The foliage 

 is browsed to a considerable extent by deer, especially late in the season. 



Occurrence. — MOUNT RAINIER. CRATER LAKE, common en west side of park: near 

 Annie Spring; Boundary Spring, western park boundary. LASSEN: Long Lake. 'iOSEM- 

 ITE, 6,000 to 9,600 feet: Lyell Fork, Tuolumne River; Clark Creek; Tuolumne 

 Meadows; lake on Matterhorn Canyon rim; Mount Lyell. K.INGS CANYON: Reflection 

 Lake; General Grant Grove. SEQUOIA: Giant Forest; Clover Creek pasture. YELLOW- 

 STONE, common: Yl ni'le north of Chocolate Pot, south of Norris ; Gibbon River; Lone 

 Star Geyser. GRAND TETON. 



9. Dwarf Blueberry {Vaccinium caespitosum Michx.). — Low spread- 

 ing shrubs 2 to 12 inches high; branchlets scarcely if at all angled; leaves ^ 

 to 1 inch long, oblong-wedge-shaped, rounded or blunt-pointed at the tips, 

 the margins very finely toothed to not toothed; flowers white or pinkish, 

 small, ovoid, borne singly on slender nodding stems in the leaf-axils; berries 

 globose, about I/4 inch in diameter, bluish-black with a bloom, sweet and juicy. 

 The foliage takes on a dark red coloration in late Summer or Fall, often 

 forming conspicuous red patches on open hillsides. (Syn. V. caespitosum 

 var. cuneifolium Nutt.). 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC: Hoh River; Home Sweet Home Camp. MOUNT RAINIER: 

 Eunice Lake. CRATER LAKE, common, 5,500 to 7,000 feet: Castlecrest Gardens; Annie 



