Index / Search / Vaccinium scoparium

§1 Plant — species · Ericaceae

Vaccinium scoparium Leiberg ex Coville

vernacular grouse whortleberry


USDA
VASC
GBIF
8383191
Rank
species
grouse whortleberry (Vaccinium scoparium)
Platephotograph · anneepierceCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Subshrub
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Ericaceae Juss.
Genus
Vaccinium
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Medium
Shade
Low
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
High
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
None
Hedging
High
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-13 °F minimum
Frost-free days
100 min.
Precipitation
19–69 in/yr
pH range
5–7
Root depth
12 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Rhizomatous
Growth rate
Rapid
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
2 ft
Height @ 20 y
1 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Red
Fruit colour
Red
Fire resistant
Yes
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Early Summer
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Rapid
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
1,000,000
Propagation
seed, cuttings, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
Yes
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 18 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/VASC ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/8383191 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z