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| Velvetleaf Blueberry |
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| Most of the pines were killed by the fire |
I decided to visit a portion of the bog that had burned
in early July of 2016 and I was delighted to find an abundance of tasty berries. The Salal (Gaultheria
shallon) was thick along the margins under the needleless canopy of blackened
shore pines. While they were fruiting abundantly and were sweet as can be, I only
picked opportunistically as I pushed through the brush, hoping to find more unusual
fare further in. The pines gradually became stunted and spaced further afield
and two species of blueberries became dominant. Initially, few that I saw had
fruit—one was even in flower—but as I pushed on, I came across expanses of Velvetleaf
Blueberry and Bog Blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) like I have never
seen before. Thickets stretched on as far as I could see. In places the fruit
were more abundant than the leaves, and they weighed the short bushes down! Perhaps
the burn released them from competition and freed up nutrients in an otherwise
nutrient stressed environment. In the last 50 years there have been at least
nine wild fires in the bog (and I don’t think they were ignited by punning
pranksters). Likely, the Sto:lo and other Coast Salish peoples intentionally
burned the bog to improve berry picking.
The species
Velvetleaf Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides) is a
conspicuously hairy deciduous shrub
that grows 4 to 36 inches tall. The round twigs are covered in fine soft hairs
and are green when young but may mature with brown, red, or purple tones. Leaves
are also hairy especially on the undersides, margins, and veins; they are elliptical
in shape with margins that lack serrations and a more gradually tapering tip
than base; leaves are usually 1-1.5 inches long 2.5-3 times as long as their width.
Flowers are unique in that they are our only native species to grow in clusters
(like the cultivated varieties of V. coryumbosum and V. angustifolium
from stock native to the Midwest and Northeast). Corollas (fused petals)
are urn shaped, white or pink, and slightly longer than wide. The calyxes (fused
sepals) under the flowers are green with conspicuously triangular lobes that
often spread outward from the flower. The only other native blueberry with a triangularly
lobed calyx is Bog Blueberry.
Fruit also arise in clusters and generally longer
than they are wide. They ripen from green to blue transitioning quickly through
reddish tones. Ripe berries have thick epicuticular wax or “bloom” as
it is called by horticulturalists, giving them a whitish appearance. Note the triangular
lobes of the calyx are still present on the tip of the berry giving it a regal crown. I measured the size of 15 berries as I picked them, and they ranged from 1/4-1/2" wide and slightly longer than wide. |
| Velvetleaf Blueberry with abundant fruit |
Bog Bilberries (Vaccinium uliginosum) form low
mat forming shrubs that rarely exceed 24 inches in height. Young twigs are yellowish,
tan, or reddish brown, covered with very fine hairs (that you need a hand lens
to see) and are rounded in cross-section. The stems age to grayish brown by the
third year and the bark become shredded with age. Leaves are alternate,
deciduous, less than 1” long and egg shaped; compared with our other
bilberries, they have a relatively squat look. Leaf margins are smooth, the
tips rounded. The lower surfaces is strongly net veined and the upper leaf
surface is blue-green or grayish green. The leaves are either minutely hairy,
or hairless, but they always have a rough textured appearance. 1-4 individually
stalked flowers emerge from the lower leaf axils of the new growth and bloom
from late May to July, depending on the elevation and latitude. Corollas (fused
petals) are usually bright pink but can be blotched or streaked with white,
pinkish white or rarely pure white. Flowers are usually globe shaped but
occasionally slightly taller than wide, the opening is surrounded by 4 outward
curled lobes. Calyces (fused sepals)
have 4 or 5 prominent lobes that clasp the base of the flower. Fruit are bright
blue and covered with bloom. Berries range in size from 1/4-5/8" wide and
can be slightly taller than wide, spherical, or wider than long. Like Velvetleaf Blueberry, the calyx lobes
on the top of the fruit have triangular lobes, only Bog Blueberry’s lobes are
usually folded inward. Occasionally, the style is persistent in fruit. |
| A heavy crop of Bog Blueberries |
Habitat and Distribution and Range
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| Velvetleaf Blueberry |
Velvetleaf Blueberry rarely inhabits bogs, muskeg, mountain
meadows, and open barrens in our area and unlikely to be seen outside of a few
locations in British Columbia (such as Burns Bog), Washington (where it is a
sensitive species), and northwest Montana. It is primarily a species of canopy
openings in pine-barrens, spruce forests, and sphagnum bogs in the Canadian Taiga,
sub boreal forests and pine barrens in the northeastern part of North America.
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| Bog Blueberry |
As both the common scientific names suggest, Bog Bilberries
delight to grow in wet habitats, particularly peat bogs, spruce swamps and
muskegs. The species epithet uliginosum
means “wet” or “swampy.” They also grow on firmer ground in the alpine and
arctic tundra where they are commonly confused with Cascade Blueberry (Vaccinium
deliciosum), at least in Washington. Bog Blueberries are a circumboreal
species that extends down the coast with increasingly sporadic distribution,
becoming uncommon in Washington, but increase again in bogs and wet mountain
meadows in Oregon and California.
Harvest and Preparation
 |
| Velvetleaf Blueberry |
Growing in clusters, Velvetleaf Blueberries pick quickly
by hand or rake. Although Bog Blueberries arise individually on each stalk,
they can still be very abundant. Be prepared to kneel to the small stature of
both species. I prefer to pick them into flat bottomed containers that can be
set on the ground since I find it hard to stoop when I have a container tied to
my waist.
 |
| Bog Blueberry |
Like all blueberries, both species are delicious raw but
they both are among the mildest flavored blueberries I have eaten with little in
the way of tartness but still enough sweetness to keep you reaching for more.
Both have thick pulp more similar in texture to a Salal berry than to a huckleberry. Bog Blueberries have amazing texture. In addition to the creamy pulp, the skins will pop in your mouth as you bight down on them. Velvetleaf Blueberry is the sweeter of the two. Near me, both species ripen in late August and can be picked through early September. By mid September they may start getting mushy. Like many late
season fruits, these species are prone to crop failures on account of our
typical dry summers. This year we had about three good rains in July and three
more in August, which may be another reason that the berries at Burns Bog are
in such good order.
Ethnobotany
Both species are enjoyed fresh and cooked by most
Indigenous groups that inhabit the plants range.
Because Veletleaf Blueberry has such a limited range
along the coast, they were only regularly eaten by the Stó:lō (Galloway 1982) and other peoples
whose traditional territory includes the productive bogs along the Lower Fraser
River. Members of other groups with special permission or marriage ties to the Stó:lō from groups such as the Nooksack (Galloway 2012), Nlaka'pamux (Turner et.
al 1990), Squamish (Turner 1976), and Ditidaht
(Turner et. al 1982) all travelled to the lower Fraser River valley to harvest
the fruit. In recent times, the Hesquiaht on the
West Coast of Vancouver Island purchased Velvetleaf Blueberries from the Stó:lō to make pies (Turner and Efrat
1982).
Bibliography
Galloway, Brent 1982. Upper Stó:lō Ethnobotany. Coqualeetza
Education Training Centre, Sardis BC.
Galloway, Brent 2012. Nooksack Classified Word List.
Turner, Nancy J. and Barbara S. Efrat 1982. Ethnobotany of
the Hesquiat Indians of Vancouver Island. Cultural Recovery Papers No. 2,
British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria BC.
Turner, Nancy J. and Randy Bouchard 1976. Squamish Ethnobotany.
Turner, Nancy J. Laurence C. Thompson, M. Terry Thompson,
and Annie Z. York 1990. Thompson
Ethnobotany, Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British
Columbia. Memoir No. 3, Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria BC.
