Ericaceae

Vaccinium deliciosum

Cascades Blueberry

Dwarf mat-forming shrub with smooth stems rooting as they run. Leaves deciduous, thin, oblong to egg-shaped, with tapered bases, often toothed on upper 2/3 of blade only and with a waxy powdery coating underneath. Flowers solitary, widely rounded, pinkish, hanging on short stalks from bases of leaves. Berries 1/3 in., blue, coated with white waxy powder, usually abundant. Grows in subalpine meadows, damp coniferous forests, from near coast to alpine meadows. Similar V. caespitosum, dwarf blueberry, grows in wet places in alpine, with leaves green on both sides and smaller berries. Both are favorite foods of bears and humans. Deliciosum means "delicious," and these berries truly are.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: Late Spring
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: 4--15 inches
• Habitat: Meadow, West-Side Forest, Subalpine
• Found In: Olympic Np, Mt. Rainier Np, N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes