VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Vaccinium ovatum | Evergreen Huckleberry 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Browse:  Evergreen huckleberry is considered an important elk browse in
parts of the Coast Ranges of southwestern Oregon [3].  In many other
areas, it is described as poor forage for both elk and deer [21,52].
Evergreen huckleberry provides at least some browse for domestic sheep
and goats [12,49].  In certain locations, sheep use may be fairly heavy
in late summer, fall, and winter [12,49].  In parts of California,
domestic goats and deer may utilize 30 to 40 percent of the current
year's twigs and leaves [49].

Fruit:  Berries of evergreen huckleberry are eaten by a wide variety of
birds and mammals [21].  Thrushes, ptarmigans, towhees, ring-necked
pheasant, and spruce, ruffed, blue, and sharp-tailed grouse readily
consume the fruit of many huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) [38,61].
Mammals such as the black bear, chipmunks, red fox, squirrels, gray fox,
and skunks, also eat the berries of many Vacciniums [38,61].  Grizzly
bears along the coast of British Columbia relish the fruits of many
species of huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.) [22].


PALATABILITY : 
Palatability of evergreen huckleberry browse varies but is generally
rated as low to moderate [29].  Fruit is highly preferred by many birds
and mammals.  Palatability of evergreen huckleberry browse in California
has been rated as follows [49]:

 Cattle          poor-useless
 Sheep           fair-poor
 Horses          useless
 Domestic goats  fair-poor
 Deer            fair-poor


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Browse:  Huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.) foliage is relatively high in
carotene, manganese, and energy content [10,23].

Fruit:  Huckleberry fruits are sweet and contain high concentrations of
both mono- and di-saccharides [53].  Berries are rich in vitamin C and
energy content but low in fats [30,46].  Berries of evergreen
huckleberry contain 24.5 percent water, 2,658 kcal per kg, and 3.85 mg
of ascorbic acid per gram [30].  Specific nutrient content has been
documented as follows [42]:

                   nutrient content /g dry weight
        calories   protein  carbo-    ash    lipid    Ca    Fe    Mg    Zn
                   (g)      hydrate   (g)    (g)     (g)   (g)   (g)   (g)
                            (g)

fresh    3.60      0.08     0.89      0.01    0.01   1.56  0.02  0.59   0.01
dried    3.52      0.06     0.92      0.02    0.00   1.74  0.02  0.20   0.01
          
        ascorbic acid (mg)

fresh         3.46
dried         3.84


COVER VALUE : 
Evergreen huckleberry presumably provides cover for a variety of
wildlife species.  It commonly forms dense thickets [57,61] which may
serve as hiding, resting, or nesting sites for many birds and mammals.


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Evergreen huckleberry can be propagated through hardwood cuttings or by
seed [34,51].  Cleaned seed averages approximately 3,000,000 per pound
(6,608/g) or 10,784 seeds per pound (24/g) of fruit [9].  Huckleberry
(Vaccinium spp.) seedlings grown in the greenhouse can be transplanted
onto favorable sites 6 to 7 weeks after emergence [9].  Wild seedlings
rarely survive when transplanted [34].  Seed collection and storage
techniques have been described [9].

Evergreen huckleberry was used for revegetating riparian areas in the
Santa Clara Valley of California [17].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Fruit of the evergreen huckleberry is sweet, delicious, and edible,
although somewhat mealy, and with a "fairly strong musky flavor"
[8,21,28,40].  Large amounts of this berry are picked annually [51,58].
Berries are relatively large but vary greatly in color and quality [28].
Fruit of the variety saporosum reportedly has a better flavor than fruit
of the variety ovatum [40,61].  Berries are made into wine, eaten fresh,
cooked, and canned or frozen by home users and commercial processors
[19,51].  Most commercially processed fruit is used as pie filling [51].
Berries are not considered as desirable for fresh fruit as those from
some other species of huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.) [39]

Fruit of the evergreen huckleberry was traditionally used by many native
peoples of the West Coast.  The Capella Indians reportedly travelled up
to 20 or 30 miles annually to harvest the fruit [57].  Berries were
eaten fresh, mashed, or dried and made into cakes [21].  Preserved
berries provided essential vitamin C during the winter months [30].

Foliage of the evergreen huckleberry is used by florists for fillers and
for background foliage in flower arrangements [39].  It is also
occasionally used to make Christmas decorations [49].  Large amounts of
evergreen huckleberry foliage are harvested annually and shipped
throughout the United States [51].  During the early 1970s, an estimated
$1 million worth of brush was harvested annually in western Washington
[39].

Evergreen huckleberry is an attractive evergreen shrub with striking
reddish bark and evergreen leaves which remain a deep green in winter
[51].  This shrub has many horticultural uses and can be planted as a
hedge plant or ground cover [28,49,51,57].  Evergreen huckleberry may
also have value for developing commercially important fruit-producing
cultivars [11,51].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Chemical control:  Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) exhibit variable
susceptibility to herbicides such as 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, glyphosate,
karbutilate, and picloram [5].

Mechanical removal:  Large amounts of evergreen huckleberry foliage are
harvest annually for use in floral arrangements.  Gratkowski [18]
observed that shrubs produce new growth after pruning and are not
significantly reduced by these activities.  However, Kruckeberg [34]
reports that in some areas, evergreen huckleberry "has been exploited by
brush-pickers."

Timber harvest:  Evergreen huckleberry often persists after logging [3].
It is a particularly common constituent of brushfields which develop
after timber harvest in the Coast Ranges of Washington and Oregon and in
the foothills of the Washington Cascades [18,24].  Evergreen huckleberry
is frequently dwarfed to 3 to 5 feet (0.9-1.5 m) in height on cutover
lands because of excessive exposure to sun [34].

Conifer regeneration:  Evergreen huckleberry, western swordfern
(Polystichum munitum), beargrass (Xerophyllum tenax), and salal can
provide some initial competition for regenerating conifers after timber
harvest on certain sites [1].

Wildlife considerations:  Huckleberries are an extremely important food
source for grizzly bears [37].  Both black and grizzly bears typically
exploit areas with dense concentrations of berries.  The habitat value
of huckleberry shrubfields to grizzly bears can be increased by
permanent or at least seasonal road closures, by coordinating timber
harvest dates to have minimal impact on habitat use patterns, and by
considering the cumulative effects of habitat modification across a
broad area.  In general, site preparation should include minimizing soil
compaction, using broadcast burns rather than hot slash burns, or by
eliminating site preparation entirely wherever possible.  Grizzly use is
favored where hiding cover is retained by treating small, irregular
patches instead of large contiguous areas, and by leaving stringers of
timber within larger cuts [67].  In many areas, bear human conflicts are
most likely to occur during years of huckleberry crop failure [37,47]
when wide-ranging hungry bears encounter recreationists or wildland home
owners.  Damage to crops and beehives, and livestock losses also
typically increase during poor huckleberry years [47].

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium ovatum | Evergreen Huckleberry