Vaccinium scoparium

General: Heath Family (Ericaceae). Littleleaf huckleberry is a small, broom-like, U.S. native, deciduous shrub <5 dm tall. The twigs are strongly angled and green. The leaves are 8-15 mm, ovate, and serrate. The flowers are solitary, urn-shaped, pink blossoms in the axils of the lowest leaves and youngest shoots. The bright red berry is tiny, 3-6 mm in diameter.

Distribution: For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site. Grouse huckleberry ranges from Alaska south to California, northern New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, and Alberta. It can be found from 760-2300 m in the Pacific Northwest, from 1800-2300 m in California, and from 2600-3800 m in Colorado. This plant is rare in California.

Habitat: Grouse huckleberry grows in rocky subalpine to alpine woods to open slopes. It grows in acidic soils in both moist and dry sites, but is most common in sandy or gravelly loams and is always found in the understory of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands.

Littleleaf huckleberry, whortleberry, grouse whortleberry, red huckleberry

More info for the term: natural

Grouse whortleberry grows from British Columbia, mostly east of the Cascades, southward to California. It extends eastward to Alberta and Montana and occurs throughout the Rocky Mountains southward to Colorado, Utah, and northern New Mexico [59]. A disjunct population of grouse whortleberry grows in the Black Hills of South Dakota [18,62]. The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides a map of grouse whortleberry's distribution in the United States (http://plants.usda.gov/).

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS [15]:

1 Northern Pacific Border

2 Cascade Mountains

3 Southern Pacific Border

4 Sierra Mountains

5 Columbia Plateau

6 Upper Basin and Range

8 Northern Rocky Mountains

9 Middle Rocky Mountains

10 Wyoming Basin

11 Southern Rocky Mountains

12 Colorado Plateau

13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont

14 Great Plains

15 Black Hills Uplift

AZCACOIDMTNVNMORSDUTWAWYBCAB

Vaccinium scoparium Leiberg ex Coville:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Canada

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

More info for the terms: duff, shrub

Grouse whortleberry is a low, rhizomatous, usually matted, slow-growing native shrub that reaches 4 to 20 inches (10-51 cm) in height. Plants are multi-branched from the base and broomlike in appearance. The small, thin leaves are deciduous; flowers are urn-shaped and inconspicuous. Berries are 0.12 to 0.2 inch (3-5 mm) broad [43,58,97,129,140].

Most Vaccinium spp. lack a taproot but have fine, threadlike lateral roots [74]. Roots of grouse whortleberry grow to a depth of about 16 inches (40 cm). Rhizomes occur in duff, or at the interface of duff and mineral soil, and are restricted to the upper 4 inches (10 cm) of soil [40,87].

More info for the term: shrubs

Grouse whortleberry is one of the most prominent understory species in the subalpine zone of the Rocky Mountains [1,82]. The species is common in coniferous forests, ravines, or on open slopes across a relatively wide geographical and elevational range [59,76,112,131].

Sites dominated by grouse whortleberry are characterized by heavy snowpack, although early season snowmelt is common. In many areas, the potential for drought exists by midsummer. These sites are usually cool to cold with a very short growing season [46,48,76].

Grouse whortleberry grows on dry to moist, well drained, rocky, sandy and gravelly loams [6,33,54,56,112]. Vaccinium spp. require acidic soils and thrive where pH ranges from 4.3 to 5.2. These shrubs require relatively low amounts of many essential elements and are capable of growing on soils with low fertility [74].

Grouse whortleberry has a wide elevational range [139]. Ranges reported in the literature are as follows:

6,000 to 7,200 feet (1800-2,200 m) in California [58]
8,500 to 12,500 feet (2,590-3,810 ) in Colorado [49]
4,800 to 9,000 feet (1,460-2,740 m) in Montana [96,99]
7,870 to 8,360 feet (2,400-2,550 m) in Wyoming [65]

More info for the terms: association, climax, shrub

Grouse whortleberry often dominates the shrub layer of subalpine
forests throughout the Rocky Mountains. Common overstory dominants are subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), whitebark pine (P. albicaulis), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), white spruce (P. glauca), grand fir (A. grandis), western larch (Larix occidentalis), western redcedar (Thuja plicata), and limber pine (P. flexilis) [41,99,115,118,122,137]. Grouse whortleberry also grows in association with subalpine larch (L. lyallii) in Montana [9] and interior ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa var. scopulorum) in the Black Hills [62,127]. In the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, grouse whortleberry occurs commonly with mountain
hemlock, Shasta red fir (A. magnifica var. shastensis), western white pine (P. monticola), and Pacific silver fir (A. amabilis) [89].

In the Rocky Mountains common understory associates of grouse whortleberry include twinflower (Linnaea borealis), queencup beadlily (Clintonia uniflora), beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), prince's pine (Chimaphila umbellata), lupine (Lupinus spp.), woodrush (Luzula hitchcockii), western meadowrue (Thalictrum occidentale), bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), pinegrass (C. rubescens), sedges (Carex spp.), and heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia). Associated woody species include big huckleberry (V. membranaceum), dwarf bilberry (V. myrtillus), bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), pachistima (Pachistima myrsinites), menziesia (Menziesia ferruginea), snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.), gooseberries (Ribes spp.), and Oregon-grape (Mahonia repens) [14,21,60,99,115,118].

Common associated species reported for Oregon and Washington include queencup beadlily, twinflower, woodrush, pinegrass, beargrass, sedges, bearberry, big huckleberry, menziesia, dwarf huckleberry (Vaccinium caespitosum), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), Cascade's rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum), white spirea (Spiraea betulifolia), and red mountainheath (Phyllodoce empetriformis) [66,68]

Because grouse whortleberry is frequent and abundant in the understory of late-seral, climax, or old-growth montane forests, many published vegetation classifications include it as a community indicator or dominant. A partial list of references is included below by state.

Arizona [90]

Colorado [5,12,35,56,57,60,61,73,136]

Idaho [24,32,118]

Montana [99,110]

New Mexico [35,90]

Oregon [11,41,45,47,53,54,63,67,133]

South Dakota [62,119]

Utah [55,92]

Washington [2,31,32,41,45,47,141]

Wyoming [62,102,103,136,142]

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

More info for the term: cover

SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES [114]:

216 Montane meadows

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

More info for the term: cover

SAF COVER TYPES [37]:

205 Mountain hemlock

206 Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir

207 Red fir

208 Whitebark pine

210 Interior Douglas-fir

211 White fir

212 Western larch

213 Grand fir

215 Western white pine

218 Lodgepole pine

219 Limber pine

224 Western hemlock

227 Western redcedar-western hemlock

237 Interior ponderosa pine

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

KUCHLER [75] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:

K003 Silver fir-Douglas-fir forest

K004 Fir-hemlock forest

K005 Mixed conifer forest

K007 Red fir forest

K011 Western ponderosa forest

K012 Douglas-fir forest

K014 Grand fir-Douglas-fir forest

K015 Western spruce-fir forest

K016 Eastern ponderosa forest

K017 Black Hills pine forest

K018 Pine-Douglas-fir forest

K020 Spruce-fir-Douglas-fir forest

K021 Southwestern spruce-fir forest

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

ECOSYSTEMS [42]:

FRES20 Douglas-fir

FRES21 Ponderosa pine

FRES22 Western white pine

FRES23 Fir-spruce

FRES24 Hemlock-Sitka spruce

FRES25 Larch

FRES26 Lodgepole pine

FRES37 Mountain meadows

Grouse huckleberry can be propagated by rhizome cuttings. Seed collections: The berries ripen from late July through September. After collection, place the berries in a plastic bag and keep them at 5 degrees C from a few days to a few weeks. Clean seed by macerating and floating the pulp and unsound seed off the top. Seed should be dried before storing. One study reported best germination with a cold stratification with warm night temperatures of 10 degrees C. Seed reportedly does not need pretreatment to germinate.

Seeds are very slow to sprout and seedlings are small and grow very slowly. Fresh or stored seeds can be sown directly into flats or small pots (a salt shaker can be used for sowing). Plant in a mixture of sand and peat moss. Seedlings will begin to emerge in a month and will continue to emerge for a long period thereafter. Transplant seedlings into larger pots 6 to 7 weeks after emergence. Plant outside after the first growing season. Water plants, as needed.

More info for the terms: climax, cover, duff, fire management, fire suppression, fuel, litter, prescribed fire, shrub, shrubs, tree

In seral Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine forests in northern Idaho, grouse whortleberry is widespread. Fuel loadings are discontinuous and may be heavy, enhanced by deep duff and subalpine fir and mountain hemlock regeneration. Management-ignited fire is used to increase water yield, provide wildlife forage, prepare seedbeds for regeneration, and reduce fuels. Duff moisture content is an important fire management consideration. Intense soil heating in these forests kills the roots and rhizomes of shrubs and herbs, notably Vaccinium species [115].

In persistent or climax upper-elevation Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine forests in northern Idaho, where grouse whortleberry cover is abundant, fuel loadings are often light and discontinuous. Elevation of these stands is above 5,000 feet (1,500 m). Unlike seral lodgepole pine forests which usually have a strong understory of shade-tolerant subalpine fir, these stands have only scattered subalpine fir. Litter and duff are shallow. Prescribed fire is used on these sites for hazard reduction and site preparation related to logging [115]. Upper-elevation, persistent Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine forests with abundant grouse whortleberry also occur in western Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and western Montana [99,116].

In northern Idaho's highest subalpine forests, grouse whortleberry is a common component under a mixed overstory. Tree species include Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine, whitebark pine, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir and mountain hemlock. Fuels are characterized by sparse fine materials and moderate to heavy loadings of larger fuels. Management objectives are similar those listed above, but timber production is rarely important. Fire return intervals are long, more so because of fire suppression. These forests are susceptible to fires that originate at lower elevations as well as fires that ignite on site [115]. Grouse whortleberry can increase the flammability of litter and influence the spread of surface fires by lending physical support to fine fuels such as twigs and conifer needles, creating a better aerated, loose surface layer. The shrub contributes to combustion once preheating is overcome. Regression equations have been developed to describe the fuel characteristics of grouse whortleberry [3,38].

More info for the terms: cover, density, fire severity, severity

Postfire response of grouse whortleberry is related to fire severity and intensity. Initial declines in cover have been noted [10,21,109]. After severe, stand-replacing crown fires, the species can recover (from rhizomes) in as little as 5 years [68,87]. In a western Montana lodgepole pine forest, grouse whortleberry was the most ubiquitous plant species detected 12 years and 21 years after a severe burn. Percent cover of grouse whortleberry after 21 years averaged from 1% to 33%. The higher percent cover was in areas undisturbed by postfire management activity, identified as road building, salvage logging, pole cutting, cattle grazing, and herbicide use, which were characterized as "calamitous" for grouse whortleberry recovery [78].

In a Wyoming study postfire sprout density of grouse whortleberry declined with increasing fire severity. In that study, all grouse whortleberry plants observed were from sprouting rhizomes. No seedlings were observed, in either burned or unburned sites [123].

More info for the terms: duff, shrub

Grouse whortleberry is described as moderately resistant to fire [39,135]. Underground rhizomes generally survive low- to moderate-severity fires that do not consume the lower duff [39]. However, most grouse whortleberry rhizomes extend no deeper than between duff and mineral soil [40,87]. Because rhizomes are shallow, this shrub is susceptible to severe, duff-reducing fires that eliminate rhizomes and seriously damage or kill the plant [64,77].

More info for the terms: rhizome, shrub

POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [120]:

Rhizomatous shrub, rhizome in soil
Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

More info for the terms: climax, cover, duff, fire severity, frequency, severity, shrub, stand-replacing fire, wildfire

Although the seed is generally viable, postfire regeneration of grouse whortleberry from seed is rare because germinants are fragile. The species relies on prolific rhizomes to survive fire. Following low- or moderate-severity fires that do not kill the shallow rhizomes, grouse whortleberry sprouts quickly and vigorously. The rhizomes occur in duff or at the duff-soil interface [25,39,87,109,115]. Severe fires can eliminate this shrub from a site [115]. Please refer to the Fire Effects section of this report for more information.

WildFIRE REGIMES in forests where grouse whortleberry is common are variable in frequency and severity, including nonlethal understory, severe stand-replacement, and mixed-severity fires [17].

Persistent (rather than seral) lodgepole pine forests in northern Idaho and western Montana have mean stand-replacing fire intervals of 195 years, with low-severity fires at 40- to 50-year intervals. Grouse whortleberry cover often exceeds 50% in these stands [115].

Fire return intervals for crown fires in the high, volcanic plateau lodgepole pine forests of Yellowstone National Park were estimated at 300 to 400 years. The more frequent low-severity surface fires are thought to exert a minor influence on long-term vegetation structure. After the slow development of sufficient large fuels (largely lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce), stand-replacing fires are probably ignited in small fuels by lightning strikes. In these forests, grouse whortleberry decreases as fire severity increases [108,123].

Drier montane sites, dominated by lodgepole pine and whitebark pine, often have stand-replacing fire return intervals greater than 200 years [13,91]. Where whitebark pine is climax, fires are infrequent and generally of low intensity. When fires do occur, many trees die and regeneration is low [91].

FIRE REGIMES for plant communities and ecosystems in which grouse whortleberry is likely to occur are summarized below. For further information regarding FIRE REGIMES and fire ecology of communities and ecosystems where grouse whortleberry is found, see the `Fire Ecology and Adaptations' section of the FEIS species summary for the plant community or ecosystem dominants listed below.

Community or Ecosystem Dominant Species Fire Return Interval Range (years) silver fir-Douglas-fir Abies amabilis-Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii > 200  grand fir Abies grandis 35-200  western larch Larix occidentalis 25-100  Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir Picea engelmannii-Abies lasiocarpa 35 to > 200  whitebark pine* Pinus albicaulis 50-200 [17] Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine* Pinus contorta var. latifolia 25-300+ [8,108] western white pine* Pinus monticola 50-200  Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine* Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum 2-10  Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir* Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca 25-100  mountain hemlock* Tsuga mertensiana 35 to > 200 [17] *fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species summary
**(mean)

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: climax, cover

Grouse whortleberry occurs as a seral or climax dominant in many high-elevation conifer forests [10,76,84,99,110]. In some high-elevation mountain hemlock or subalpine fir-lodgepole pine forests, grouse whortleberry declines as the overstory canopy closes [44,63].

In southwestern Montana, whitebark pine/grouse whortleberry overstories are relatively even-aged and can reach 400 to 600 years in age between stand-replacing disturbances. Nonlethal underburns occur more frequently than stand-replacing fires [13,91]; grouse whortleberry persists through low-severity fires. Please refer to the Fire Ecology and Fire Effects sections of this report for more information.

Following clearcutting that does not lead to heavy mechanical scarification in Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine stands, grouse whortleberry often sprouts and occupies a prominent role in seral communities. With moderately heavy site or slash treatments, grouse whortleberry decreases dramatically. High initial cover of species such as fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) and pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) often develops immediately after disturbance in many Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine-subalpine fir communities of western Montana. However, these understories succeed to grouse whortleberry and beargrass as the pole canopy develops [10]. Although lodgepole pine is often regarded as a seral species, some lodgepole pine/grouse whortleberry communities of the northern Rockies a represent an edaphic vegetation climax [34].

More info for the terms: rhizome, severity

Grouse whortleberry reproduces through seed and vegetatively through rhizome sprouting. The edible berries contain many seeds that are probably dispersed by birds and mammals.

Vaccinium seeds are not dormant. Seedlings may emerge 1 month after dispersal and continue to emerge for long periods without cold temperatures. Seedlings of most western Vacciniums are apparently rare in the field. Seedling establishment may be important only on good sites during "favorable" years [26,109].

Grouse whortleberry sprouts from rhizomes growing in the forest floor [87]. Because they are relatively shallow, rhizomes are vulnerable to fires of high severity and mechanical treatments that include severe soil scarification [10,68].

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: chamaephyte, geophyte

RAUNKIAER [101] LIFE FORM:
Chamaephyte
Geophyte

More info for the term: shrub

Shrub

More info on this topic.

Grouse whortleberry flowers in early to midsummer. Fruit maturation begins immediately after flowering, and fruit is generally ripe by late summer or fall [43,126].

Phenological development was documented as follows during a study in the northern Rockies [113]: East of the Continental Divide - MT and Yellowstone NP leaf leaves flower flower fruit seed leaves bud full starts ends ripe fall fallen burst grown starts average 5/17 6/12 6/8 6/26 8/7 8/13 9/28 earliest 4/30 5/21 5/1 5/10 7/22 8/3 9/12 latest 6/30 7/25 7/4 7/21 8/15 8/20 10/24 Northern Idaho and western Montana - leaf leaves flower flower fruit seed leaves bud full starts end ripe fall fallen burst grown start average 5/3 5/26 5/17 6/2 7/21 8/14 10/4 earliest 3/27 4/25 4/15 5/15 7/5 8/10 9/5 latest 5/28 6/30 6/12 7/2 8/29 8/23 10/16

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 4
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

More info for the terms: constancy, cover, wildfire

Grouse whortleberry is adversely affected by some site preparation treatments and other mechanical activity associated with logging. Shallow rhizomes make grouse whortleberry susceptible to even relatively minor soil disturbance, reducing cover to below pretreatment levels. Grouse whortleberry is vulnerable to treatments that include severe soil scarification
[10,78,144].

In western Montana grouse whortleberry decreased strongly after timber harvest and subsequent
scarification in subalpine fir/beargrass-blue huckleberry habitat types. Smaller decreases were observed after broadcast burns or clearcuts without site preparation in the same habitat types [10].

In subalpine fir forests in the northern Rockies, reductions in grouse whortleberry cover were observed after clearcutting. Lodgepole pine, Engelmann spruce and western larch were common on the study sites. Grouse whortleberry was identified as a key grizzly bear food. The author concluded that soil disturbance caused by logging activity destroys the roots and rhizomes of plants that depend on vegetative reproduction, including grouse whortleberry. The table below shows constancy (percentage of stands where grouse whortleberry was present) and percent grouse whortleberry cover in 2 habitat types where logging had occurred. The results are from 15- to 35-year-old clearcuts where slash was bulldozer-piled and burned. Some of the units were scarified, but those data were not reported separately. Data for openings in 35- to 70-year-old burns (wildfire) were also reported [144]:

Constancy/percent cover

habitat type wildfire old growth logged
(control)

subalpine fir/queencup beadlily 53/5.9 19/16.5 22/1.0
subalpine fir/menziesia 44/14.0 25/3.0 33/0.5
subalpine fir/beargrass 63/9.6 38/5.3 no data
subalpine fir/woodrush 81/9.2 80/5.8 no data

Following thinning in lodgepole pine forests of Colorado, grouse
whortleberry cover declined the 1st year but then increased consistently.
Pretreatment levels were regained with 5 years [28].

Grouse whortleberry is moderately resistant to trampling by hikers and campers.
The shrub's short-term resilience is low, but long-term resilience is described as
moderate [22]. Trampling by domestic sheep can result in major damage to
grouse whortleberry in high elevation fir-spruce forests [69].

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

This plant grows very rapidly in moist, shady conditions. If summer drought occurs, the plants should be watered so roots are kept fairly moist. Traditional Resource Management of this plant includes the following: 1) occasional burning to stimulate new growth; 2) pruning the branches after picking the berries to stimulate new growth and fruit production the next growing season; and 3) ownership of huckleberry shrubs provides the basis for careful tending and sustainable yield of valed resources.

Ethnobotany. The small berries are eaten by the Mlaka’-pamus in British Columbia, and the Okanagan-Colville and Kootenay people in the Pacific Northwest. The berries are picked with a comb and usually eaten fresh. However, berries are gathered less commonly in modern times due to their size and the limited number produced. Like the wild strawberries, the tiny red fruits are sweet and delicious and well worth the effort. They are also used by backpackers.

Grouse huckleberry is sometimes used horticulturally, due to its bright green stems, pretty pink flowers and red fruits, and tolerance to a wide range of light levels.

Wildlife. For several species of grouse, these are among the most important summer and early fall foods. They are also important to songbirds, chipmunks, mice, and other mammals. Grouse huckleberry is not a favorable browse due to its small size. However, small mammals, such as rabbits, browse freely on the plants.