parvifolium – parvus (small) + folium (leaf)
Native range: West Coast of North America
Leaves:
- alternate
- simple
- oval
- to 3 cm long
- entire
Flowers:
- small
- urn-shaped flowers
- greenish-yellow to pink
- lobes reflexed
- single in leaf axils
Fruit:
- round berry
- bright red
- up to 1 cm across
- multiple seeds
- edible
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Other characteristics:
- erect shrub to 12 ft. (4 m.)
- mostly deciduous but with a few persistent leaves
- branches bright green, slender and strongly angled with ridges
- red marks on branches
- tend to grow on nurse logs
Relevant info:
- tallest of western North American huckleberry species
- widely used by all indigenous people in its range for food (fresh or preserved) and beverage, fish bait in streams, and medicinal cures
Ecology & Adaptations:
- native from Alaska to California on both sides of the Cascades, but much more common on the west side
- found in moist woods, coniferous forests, often at forest edges or under canopy openings, in soils rich in decaying wood, often on stumps and logs, mountain valleys, on river terraces, disturbed areas
- sea level to mid-elevations in the mountains (0–1100 m.)
- seed dispersal:
- seeds are primary means of regeneration
- fruits attract many birds and mammals
- seeds are readily dispersed by many birds and mammals, whose digestive processes (acids in gut) may promote germination
- germination on nurse logs, snags or stumps is common, as seeds are frequently deposited by perching birds
- vegetative reproduction/regeneration:
- sprouts or “suckers” after plants are damaged by fire, mechanical removal, or herbivory
- spreads via rhizomes and sprouts from these underground structures after aboveground portions are removed
- shade tolerant, but shade generally decreases fruit set and populations will diminish as canopy closes
- indigenous peoples of the Northwest burned red huckleberry and other Vaccinium species to maintain or enhance fruit production
- tolerant of low nutrient conditions – mycorrhizae aid in nutrient and water absorption
- wildlife:
- deer, mountain goats and elk browse leafless stems in fall and winter
- mountain beavers and other small mammals also browse
- fruit is eaten by many species of birds and mammals, including bears
- forms thickets that provide cover and nesting sites for small birds and mammals