Vaccinium ovalifolium (commonly known as Alaska blueberry, early blueberry, oval-leaf bilberry, oval-leaf blueberry, and oval-leaf huckleberry)[2] is a plant in the heath family with three varieties, all of which grow in northerly regions (e.g. the subarctic).[2]
Older bark is greyish, but twigs are brown, yellow or reddish.
V.ovalifolium is a spreading shrub which may grow to 2 metres (6+1⁄2ft) tall. The leaves are 2.5–3.5 centimetres (1–1+1⁄2in) long, green on top and pale below.[6] It has pink, 0.64cm (1⁄4in), urn-shaped flowers. Berries are dark blue, often black, .5–1cm (1⁄4–3⁄8in) across,[6] sometimes with a waxy coating.[7][8]
In the winter, V.ovalifolium is an important food source for grazing deer, goats, and elk, and in the summer the nectar feeds hummingbirds.[7]
Uses
V.ovalifolium is used in jams and jellies and for making liqueur. Blueberry herbal tea can be made from the leaves, or from the juice of the blueberries themselves,[7] which are edible.[6]
V.ovalifolium has been used in Russia in the making of dyes, including the use of its tannin.[2]
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