Velvet-leaf Blueberry
Vaccinium myrtilloides
Bird foodPollinator plant

(c) naturalist charlie, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by naturalist charlie
Growing it
| When | Flowers May to June; fruits July to August |
|---|---|
| Type | shrub |
| Sun | Full sun, partial shade |
| Water | Low, medium |
| Soil | pH 4–5.5 |
| Hardiness | zone 2–6 |
| Mature height | 0.5 m |
| Mature spread | 0.75 m |
| Spacing | 0.5 m |
| Years to maturity | 5 |
| Bloom | May–Jun |
| Flower colour | Pink not verified, a genus-level estimate |
| In bloom | May June |
| Fruit | Jul–Aug |
| Native to | AB, SK |
elliptic leaves about 3 cm long; a spreading, branching crown
Where it has been recorded
Which ecoregions the records fall in
- Mid-Boreal Uplands central AB / SK: 217 records, high confidence
- Boreal Transition central AB / SK: 120 records, high confidence
- Western Alberta Upland central AB: 103 records, high confidence
- Aspen Parkland central AB / SK: 55 records, high confidence
- Peace Lowland north AB: 40 records, high confidence
- Churchill River Upland north SK: 27 records, high confidence
- Slave River Lowland north AB: 19 records, medium confidence
- Western Boreal central AB: 9 records, medium confidence
- Wabasca Lowland north AB: 7 records, low confidence
- Athabasca Plain north AB / SK: 6 records, low confidence
- Eastern Continental Ranges central AB: 3 records, low confidence
- Selwyn Lake Upland north SK: 3 records, low confidence
These are counts of records collected somewhere in the region, which is the resolution of the evidence: the map above shows where inside it. A region with 3 records is not the same claim as one with three hundred, so the count travels with the region. A region missing from this list means nobody has recorded it there, which is not the same as the plant being absent. Records within 900 m of a border count for neither side, because the border is not drawn finely enough to say which one they are on. Source: GBIF occurrence search + PRESERVED_SPECIMEN pass, retrieved 2026-08-24. Boundaries digitised from the National Ecological Framework for Canada v2.2 (Ecological Stratification Working Group 1995), simplified to about 900 m for display: an outline is accurate to roughly a kilometre, not to the metre. How these counts are made.
See every observation, live and current, on GBIF or iNaturalist.
Documented animals
17 documented relationships.
pollen for
- Andrena carlini Small 1976
- Andrena carolina Small 1976
- Andrena vicina Small 1976
- Confusing Bumble Bee Small 1976
- Sericomyia transversa Small 1976
- Spring Cellophane Bee Small 1976
- Tricoloured Bumble Bee Small 1976
- Yellow-banded Bumble Bee Small 1976
nectar for
- Andrena vicina Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Confusing Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Epalpus signifer Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Mesembrina latreillii Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Tricoloured Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Two-ranked Bumble Bee Specimen records from www.bumblebeewatch.org
- White-marked Tussock Moth Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
- Yellow-banded Bumble Bee Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
caterpillar host for
- Blueberry Stem Gall Wasp Specimen records from iNaturalist.org
Also worth knowing
Safety
Toxicity not assessed, absence of a warning is not a guarantee of safety
Edible parts
Fruit
Buying it
About $25–$50 per plant (estimate), usually from a native-plant nursery. Estimate (shrub default); AB retail as of 2026
Where these numbers came from
- Flower detail: not verified, a genus-level estimate