VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Vaccinium parvifolium | Red Huckleberry 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Browse:  Red huckleberry is an important big game browse in some parts
of the Northwest, particularly during the fall and winter months
[97,101].  It provides valuable forage for deer, mountain goats, and elk
[101].  In western Washington, red huckleberry is an important elk
browse [90,98].  Large amounts of new leaves are eaten in the spring but
this shrub is of primary importance during the fall [90].  Elk use may
be heavy in some areas [42].  Elk utilization of 60 to 90 percent has
been reported on the Olympic Peninsula [90].

In many areas, red huckleberry is one of the most important winter foods
of the black-tailed deer and is used heavily until covered by snow
[78,106].  Deer consume the fruit, leaves, twigs, leafy shoots, and
newly-developing sprouts [14,54].  Brown [14] observed heaviest use
during April, May, and October, but others have reported peak use during
early winter when lower-growing vegetation is covered with snow [46].
Red huckleberry can grow beyond the reach of deer on some sites [14].
Small mammals also browse red huckleberry.  In the Coast Range of
Oregon, it is a preferred food of the mountain beaver [49].

Red huckleberry is used locally by domestic sheep and to a lesser
degree, by cattle [21].  On Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
plantations in parts of Oregon, it may be preferred by domestic sheep in
all seasons [63].
 
Fruit:  Berries of red huckleberry are eaten by a wide variety of birds
and mammals.  Thrushes, catbird, band-tailed pigeon, bluebirds,
ptarmigans, towhees, ring-necked pheasant, and spruce, ruffed, blue, and
sharp-tailed grouse readily consume the fruit of many huckleberries
(Vaccinium spp.) [69,98].  Fruit of the red huckleberry is a preferred
food of chicks and adult blue grouse on Vancouver Island [56] and
elsewhere [98].  Many mammals including black bear, deer mice,
white-footed mouse, raccoon, pika, ground squirrels, chipmunks, red fox,
squirrels, gray fox, and skunks, also eat the berries of Vacciniums
[69,98].  Along the coast of British Columbia, grizzly bears seek out
the fruit of huckleberries [8,37].


PALATABILITY : 
Overall palatability of red huckleberry browse is described as moderate
[21].  Leafless shoots are preferred during winter by black-tailed deer
in western Washington and in the Coast Ranges of Oregon [14,46].
Palatability of red huckleberry browse to Roosevelt elk on the Olympic
Peninsula of Washington is reported to be "good" [90].  Berries are
highly palatable to a wide variety of birds and mammals.


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Browse:  Huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.) foliage is relatively high in
carotene, manganese, and energy content [20,38].  Red huckleberry browse
provides nutritious forage for deer in coastal British Columbia and
Alaska [78].  However, food value apparently varies seasonally [14,78]
and with site conditions [41].  Nutrient content peaks at the beginning
of the growing season, and during this time, browse exceeds deer
requirements for digestible energy [78].  A composite analysis of red
and blue huckleberry (V. membranaceum) browse in western Washington
revealed the following values [14]:

   crude     ether     crude    N-free    total    Ca      Mg    K    PO4
   protein   extract   fiber    extract   ash
                               (percent)
 
  7.57      3.56      35.71    46.90     1.38    1.032  0.201 0.535  0.434

Fruit:  Vaccinium berries are sweet and contain high concentrations of
both mono- and di-saccharides [107].  Berries are rich in vitamin C and
energy content but low in fats [51,84].  Specific nutrient content of
red huckleberry fruit has been documented as follows [77]:

kjoules  calories  protein  carbo.   ash   Fe   Mg   Zn   ascorbic   Ca lipid
x 10 3             (g)      (g)      (g)  (g)   (g)  (g)  acid(mg)  (g) (g)
                      (per gram of dry weight)

16.48    3.94      0.16     0.72    0.02  0.04 0.55  0.01   3.54    2.16  0.09


COVER VALUE : 
Red huckleberry presumably provides cover for a variety of wildlife
species.  It often forms dense thickets which may serve as hiding,
resting, or nesting sites for many smaller birds and mammals.


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Huckleberry (Vaccinium spp.) seedlings grown in the greenhouse can be
transplanted onto favorable sites 6 to 7 weeks after emergence [19].
Seed collection and storage techniques have been considered in detail
[19].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Red huckleberry fruit has been variously described as "palatable but
..sour," "tart and not well-flavored," "sour but good," and of a
"pleasant flavor although somewhat dry" [71,97,89,101].  Menzies, an
early traveler to the Northwest, described red huckleberry fruit as
"preferable... to the well-known cranberries" [100].  Fruit is gathered
locally for pies, jelly, jam, and preserves [89,101], but this shrub is
generally not considered an important fruit producer [71].  Berries are
readily available and easily harvested [64].  Approximately 8.5 ounces
(250 ml) can be harvested within an 8-minute period [64].

Red huckleberry fruit was an important traditional food source for many
native peoples of the Northwest including the Nuxalk of the Bella Coola
region of British Columbia [64,77,109].  Berries were eaten fresh or
preserved [64].  Dried fruit provided an important source of vitamin C
during the winter months.

Red huckleberry, an attractive and valuable ornamental, is well suited
for a variety of garden uses [47,60].  In the fall, reddish leaves
present a striking contrast to the bright green branches [48].  Red
huckleberry has no known value for breeding commercial fruit-producing
strains [89].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Competition:  Red huckleberry commonly persists after logging in conifer
and mixed conifer-hardwood stands [94].  It forms an important component
of many long-lived seral brushfields [32,40,53] and sometimes competes
with conifer regeneration [80].  On tree plantations in the coastal
Sitka spruce-western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) zone, it competes
effectively with conifer seedlings by the fifth growing season [87].
However, Hays [41] notes that this shrub is rarely a major competitor on
coastal sites in British Columbia.

Mechanical removal:  Most western huckleberries are damaged by
postlogging treatments which include harsh scarification [68].  This
appears to be true of red huckleberry as well [41].  Plants are often
restricted to areas of relatively undisturbed soil [24].  Results of
several types of mechanical treatments as applied to coastal brushfields
of Oregon are as follows [54]:

                             spray and crush        scarification
                           (frequency - percent)

before disturbance                  72                    44
after disturbance                    6                    --

Plants occasionally sprout within the first year after timber harvest
[87].  Response of red huckleberry after timber harvest was documented
as follows in coastal British Columbia [53]:

      prelogging     3-4 years     13 years     42 years
      control     
                    (quadrat frequencies - percent)

         18               9           24            7      

Silviculture:  Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) can
generally be successfully planted in the white fir (Abies concolor) zone
wherever red huckleberry occurs on wetter sites [5].

Chemical control:  Huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) exhibit variable
susceptibility to herbicides such as 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, glyphosate,
karbutilate, and picloram [13].  Response of red huckleberry to
applications of glyphosate in coastal brushfields of Oregon was
documented as follows [54]:

                        glyphosate    spray and brush
                        (percent frequency)

before disturbance          53               63
after disturbance            3               --

Wildlife considerations:  Huckleberries are an extremely important food
source for grizzly bears [68].  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 cool rather than hot slash burns, or by eliminating
site preparation entirely wherever possible [68].  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 [105].  In many areas, bear-human conflicts
are most likely to occur during years of huckleberry crop failure
[68,86].

Heavy ungulate browsing of red huckleberry has been observed on winter
ranges in some parts of Washington [90].  In some areas, it is
considered a good indicator of "present conditions and trends" [90].
Maximum utilization of 50 to 70 percent has been proposed [90].

Biomass:  Red huckleberry biomass in coastal Douglas-fir forests was
documented as follows [66]:

stand age (years)     22        30        42        73
biomass (kg/hectare)  --        --        --       4.6

Related categories for Species: Vaccinium parvifolium | Red Huckleberry