native Vaccinium species?

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by fern2, Nov 25, 2006.

  1. fern2

    fern2 Active Member

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    Hi again,

    Does anyone recognise the native plant in the photo on the left? I bought it as an unlabelled pot at a native plant sale and was told by the vendor that it was probably Vaccinium ovatum (evergreen huckleberry).

    But it doesn't look like my other V. ovatum plants (photo on the right) so I suspect that it's something else. Yet it's an evergreen, so it's probably not another huckleberry/blueberry/Vaccinium species from the PNW either. Right? I've used every guidebook, online resource, & taxonomic key that I can get my hands on, but to no avail. And the mystery is driving me crazy.

    The plant is roughly 10" tall and hasn't produced flowers or berries yet (so we can't rely on them for an ID). The stem & branches are woody and 'snaking' (i.e. aren't straight), although they're generally vertical not horizontal. The leaves are dark green, leathery, thin, and roughly 1" long; their shape is considerably different to the standard V. ovatum leaf; and they're attached opposite each other (unlike V. ovatum's alternating leaves). If you zoom in on the left-hand photo, you can also see that the leaves are serrated but only from the midpoint to the tip (whereas V. ovatum's are serrated from stalk to tip)...

    Can anyone help me ID my nameless orphan?
    Thanks muchly!
     

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  2. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Can you verify that the leaves are opposite in the mystery plant? It has that appearance, but not enough for me to say with certainty - could just be the angles of view from the photograph.
     
  3. fern2

    fern2 Active Member

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    I'd run outside to double check for you but the plant is covered in 1' of snow right now so I can only use my photos as a reference... But based on those I'd say that, yes, the leaves are attached opposite each other.

    Here's a close up the leaves:
     

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  4. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    I answered quite awhile ago that it was Oregon box (Paxistima myrtifolia). Maybe I hit the wrong button or the server went down right after.
     
  5. fern2

    fern2 Active Member

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    Ah, excellent Ron B. Thanks.

    I was confused by the plant's sparse foliage - it doesn't look as lush or orderly as Oregon boxwood tends to be. So I figured it must have been a vaccinium instead, even though it wasn't a perfect fit to any of those either...

    Now I guess I need to figure out if it needs to be moved from the deep shade corner of my garden into a somewhat sunnier spot, or if it's ok where it is (the websites seem to disagree about that).

    Anyway, thanks for helping me ID this plant. Hopefully I can keep it happy from now on :)
     

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