DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Vaccinium myrtillus | Dwarf Bilberry 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Dwarf bilberry grows from British Columbia southward east of the
Cascades to central Oregon [42,92].  It occurs throughout the Rocky
Mountains from British Columbia and Alberta to northern New Mexico and
southern Arizona [92,98].  Dwarf bilberry reaches greatest abundance in
the southern Rockies, whereas the closely related and morphologically
similar grouse whortleberry is most abundant in the Northwest [13,20]
Disjunct populations of dwarf bilberry have been reported in the
interior Rocky Mountains [92].  This circumboreal species extends across
Europe and Asia [42,92].  Populations in southwestern Greenland are
believed to have originated from European plants [92].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES28  Western hardwoods


STATES : 
     AZ  CA  CO  ID  MT  NM  OR  UT  WA  WY
     AB  BC


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     GLAC  ROMO  YELL


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    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


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K004  Fir - hemlock
   K011  Western ponderosa pine
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K018  Pine - Douglas-fir forest
   K019  Arizona pine forest
   K020  Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K021  Southwestern spruce - fir forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   205  Mountain hemlock
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   211  White fir
   217  Aspen
   218  Lodgepole pine
   219  Limber pine
   227  Western redcedar - western hemlock
   237  Interior ponderosa pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Dwarf bilberry is a common understory dominant or codominant in a
variety of coniferous forests of the Rocky Mountains.  It occurs in
abundance in stands made up of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa),
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Engelmann spruce (Picea
engelmannii), and white fir (Abies concolor).  Dwarf bilberry is also an
understory dominant in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), ponderosa pine
(P> ponderosa), western hemlock-western redcedar (Tsuga
heterophylla-Thuja plicata, and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)
communities.  Common understory codominants include grouse whortleberry,
skunkleaf polemonium (Polemonium pulcherrimum), northern twinflower
(Linnaea borealis), and thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) [6,4,78,98].

Published classifications listing dwarf bilberry as an indicator or
dominant in habitat types, community types, or plant associations are
presented below.

Classification of the forest vegetation of Wyoming [3]
Classification of the forest vegetation of Colorado by habitat type and
  community type [4]
Classification of the forest vegetation on the National Forests of
  Arizona and New Mexico [5]
A preliminary classification of the natural vegetation of Colorado [8]
Climax forest series of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado [23]
Forest habitat types south of the Mongolian Rim, Arizona and New Mexico [24]
Forest habitat types in the Apache, Gila, and part of the Cibola
  National Forests, Arizona and New Mexico [32]
Plant association of Region Two: Potential plant communities of
  Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas [47]
Forest vegetation of the Gunnison and parts of the Uncompahgre National
  Forests: a preliminary habitat type classification [52]
Forest and woodland habitat types (plant associations) of northern New
  Mexico and northern Arizona [59]
The lodgepole pine zone in Colorado [66]
A forest habitat type classification of southern Arizona and its
  relationship to forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico [68]
Forested plant associations of the Okanogan National Forest [99]

Plant associates:  Common associates of dwarf bilberry include
thimbleberry, northern twinflower, kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi), mountain snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilus), heartleaf
arnica (Arnica cordifolia), common juniper (Juniperus communis), black
twinberry (Lonicera involucrata), Rocky mountain maple (Acer glabrum),
serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), and grouse whortleberry
[8,25,47,52,68].  Where dwarf bilberry and grouse whortleberry occur
together, dwarf bilberry typically occupies somewhat lower, more mesic
sites [106].

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium myrtillus | Dwarf Bilberry