202 



American Midland Naturalist Monograph No. 4 



south of Beryl Spring, south of Norris; West Thumb; road between Old Faithful and 

 Thumb. GRAND TETON : two miles east of Eagles Rest. ROCKY MOUNTAIN, common, 

 10,000 to 1 1,000 feet: ^ mile southeast of Dream Lake. 



12. Rocky Mountain Whortleberry (Vaccinium oreophilum Rydb.). 

 — Low spreading shnab, 3 to 12 inches high with slender, green, angled 

 branches; leaves thin, oval to egg-shaped, ^ to % inch long, the margins 

 usually very finely toothed; flowers pinkish-white, bell-shaped, borne singly 

 in the upper leaf -axils; berries nodding, about 3/16 inch in diameter, at first 



red, becoming purple-black 

 with a bloom. (Syn. Vaccin- 

 ium myrtillus as to Rocky 

 Mountain plants, not L.). 



OccuTTence. — GLACIER, c o m ■ 

 mon, 3,100 to 7,200 feet: Belton; 

 Logan Pass; Logging Lake; North 

 Fork Flathead River road; Swift- 

 current Lake; above Kmtla Lake; 

 Cut Bank Valley; trail from Cros- 

 sley Lake to Indian Pass. ROCKY 

 MOUNTAIN, common. 



13. Red Whortleberry 

 (Vaccinium parvij oliuiji 

 Smith), fig. 121. — -Slender, 

 spreading shrub 3 to 12 feet 

 high with somewhat zigzag 

 branches forming more or less 

 horizontal sprays; herbage yel- 

 low-green, the stems sharply 

 angled; leaves mostly oval with 

 blunt points, ^ to 1^ inches 

 long, untoothed; flowers white 

 or pinkish, bell-shaped, borne 

 singly on slender stems in the 

 leaf-axils; berries bright red, 

 about y^ to 1/3 inch in di- 

 ameter, juicy, tart and agreeable, often collected for canning and preserving. 

 The foliage is browsed by deer and elk. 



Occurrence. — OLYMPIC, common in the lower forests: Elwha River Valley; Lake 

 Crescent. MOUNT RAINIER, abundant, 1,750 to 4,000 feet: Carbon River near ranger 

 cabin; Ohanapecosh Hot Springs; Puyallup River. YOSEMITE, rare: North Crane 

 Creek, 5,700 feet. 



Fig. 121. Red whortleberry (Vaccinium 

 parvi folium) . 



14. Oval-leaf Whortleberry (Vaccinium ovalifolnun Smith). — 

 Erect shrub 3 to 6 feet high with spreading branches forming open flatfish 

 sprays; branchlets somewhat angled; foliage bluish-green; leaves oval to oblong 

 or narrowly egg-shaped with rounded or blunt-pointed tips, % to nearly 2 

 inches long; flowers pinkish, bell-shaped, borne singly on slender nodding 



