DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Vaccinium ovatum | Evergreen Huckleberry 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Evergreen huckleberry occurs along the Pacific Coast from British
Columbia to central California [8,21,58].  It is rare in the Cascades
but grows throughout the Coast Ranges and the central Sierra Nevada
[9,21].  Evergreen huckleberry occurs sporadically in the higher
mountains of southern California [9,28].  The variety saporosum is
restricted to portions of California [8].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES24  Hemlock - Sitka spruce
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES27  Redwood


STATES : 
     CA  OR  WA  BC


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     CHIS  MORA  OLYM  PORE  REDW


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    1  Northern Pacific Border
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K001  Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
   K002  Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
   K003  Silver fir - Douglas-fir forest
   K004  Fir - hemlock forest
   K006  Redwood forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K029  California mixed evergreen forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   218  Lodgepole pine
   223  Sitka spruce
   224  Western hemlock
   225  Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
   227  Western redcedar - western hemlock
   229  Pacific Douglas-fir 
   230  Douglas-fir - western hemlock
   231  Port Orford cedar
   232  Redwood
   234  Douglas-fir - tanoak - Pacific madrone


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Evergreen huckleberry grows as an understory dominant or codominant in
certain mature Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga
menziesii), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and western redcedar
(Thuja plicata) forests of the Northwest.  It also occurs in coastal
headland shrub communities codominated by species such as Pacific
rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum), poison-oak (Toxicodendron
diversiloba), and salal (Gaultheria shallon).

Evergreen huckleberry also occurs as an understory dominant in humid
coastal Port-Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), Douglas-fir, and
in redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) communities which develop on broad
alluvial flats [12,41,54,55,62,64].  It is a characteristic understory
component of western hemlock-Sitka spruce communities which occur along
the coast of northern Oregon [26].  Evergreen huckleberry grows in pygmy
forests of California beneath species such as lodgepole pine (P.
contorta), Monterey cypress (Cupressus pygmaea), bishop pine (P.
muricata), and Monterey pine (P. radiata) [63,65].  It commonly assumes
a dwarfed, nearly herblike growth form in these forests [63,65].
Evergreen huckleberry persists on cutover sites in many areas where it
forms brushfields [18,34].

This shrub is a prominent component of California and Oregon mixed
evergreen forests dominated by species such as tanoak (Lithocarpus
densiflora), canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis), sugar pine (Pinus
lambertiana), Douglas-fir, and Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii).  It
commonly grows as an understory dominant on north-facing slopes or along
rocky streamside terraces [50].

Understory associates:  Common understory associates include salal, red
huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), western swordfern (Polystichum
munitum), Oregon oxalis (Oxalis oregana), Pacific rhododendron, hazel
(Corylus cornuta), thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), bog Labrador tea
(Ledum glandulosa), ovalleaf huckleberry (V. ovalifolium), deer fern
(Blechnum spicant), and annual grasses [26,50,54,55,62,66].
Thimbleberry, salal, salmonberry (R. spectabilis), vine maple (Acer
circinatum), and hazel are particularly common brushfield associates
[18].

Publications listing it as an indicator or codominant species in
community types or plant associations are presented below.

Preliminary plant associations of the Siskiyou Mountain Provence [1]
The tanoak series of the Siskiyou Mountain Provence [2]
Vegetation and habitats [14]
Natural vegetation of Oregon and Washington [15]
Ecoclass coding system for the Pacific Northwest plant associations [20]
Plant association and management guide: Siulaw National Forest [25]

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium ovatum | Evergreen Huckleberry