Blueberries-Bog Blueberry or Bilberry,Dwarf Blueberry,Oval Leafed Blueberry, Cascade Bilberry

 Surprise, surprise, all blueberries tend to be blue in colour, hence the common name of this group of plants. You will oft-times read that  blue berries and  huckleberries are a different berry. Colour is the only difference, blueberries are huckleberries.The fruit of this species is generally sweet, rather than tart/sour like cranberries or sweet/tangy like huckleberries. Because blueberries grow close to the ground, they can be difficult and time consuming to collect. But aboriginal peoples, from anywhere in the world, were not worried about any one else and especially not other animals; so they did not concern them selves with such trivial matters as conservation and/or resource management.
 Their only concerns were of survival; at the most primitive level so some people developed a method of combing them from the branches with a wooden comb or rake While this method is admittedly efficient, it unnecessarily damages, and pulls up plants., it collects all available berries , leaving nothing for birds and other animals.
It also results in baskets full of both berries and small hard to pick out blueberry leaves. 
Most importantly, it leaves nothing for reseeding or regrowth; depleting and eventually eliminating the entire food  source. There are only two thing in the world that destroy their own environment-- means of life-- MAN AND CANCERS.
The now, so called, Alaska Blueberry, Vaccinum alaskaense: is remarkably similar to the oval leafed blueberry; but, has flowers that generally appear before the leaves (vs. with the flowers in the oval leafed blueberry), flowers are usually wider than long (vs, longer than wide in the oval leafed, and leaves with coarse stiff hairs along the underside midrib (vs. bare  in oval-leafed. Flowers from April to May. Grows at low to sub-alpine elevations  in most of coastal British Columbia, an area that is, just slightly, larger than all of Alaska.

Bog Blueberry or Bilberry, (Vaccinium uliginosum): berries are bluish-black with a whitish bloom; the leaves are thick, and they grow on shrubs 6-12 inches high, in bogs, along lake shores, and on hillsides and mountain summits .The flowers are pink

They are eaten raw, boiled, or baked in sourdough pancakes, bannock, muffins, and pie.

Dwarf Blueberry, Vaccinium caespitosum: is a low, usually matted shrub, with rounded yellow to red branches and finely toothed, light green leaves. Its 5-lobed flowers produce berries singly in leaf axis from about August to September. Grows at all elevations, in dry to wet forests, bogs, meadows, rocky ridges ,and in tundra, throughout Canada.

Oval Leafed Blueberry, Vaccinium ovalfolium: is a tall shrub, sometimes over 6 feet, with hairless angled branches. Its leaves are entire or only sparsely toothed. Usually produces berries forom early July to September. Grows at low to sub-alpine elevations in dry to moist forests, apenings and also in bogs.

Cascade Bilberry, Vaccinum deliciosum: is a low, often matted, and densely branched, shrub. Stems are green/brown, minutely hairy, inconspicuously angled. Leaves are pale green with a white bloom underneath, often minutely rolled backward. The Fruit is almost globe shaped, singly or in pairs, blue to black, and ripens from early July to September.Inhabits dry to moist forests, open areas, and bogs at low to sub-alpine elevaation.

Low bush Blueberry or Dwarf Bilberry, (Vaccinium caespitosum)

Berries are light blue with a whitish bloom, growing on shrubs 2-12 inches high, on gravelly shores, and in wooded areas. The leaves are lustrous green and thin, the flowers pink. The flavour is sweet, far superior to the farmed, so call "High bush" Blueberries. In supermarkets, they are now much sought after.

There are many historical medicinal uses for this wide ranging plant.

Blueberry roots were boiled to make medicinal teas that were taken to relieve diarrhoea, gargled to soothe sore mouths and throats or applied to slow healing sores. Bruised roots and berries were steeped in hootch which was taken freely(as much as the stomach and head could tolerate!) to stimulate urination, and to relieve kidney stones and water retention.

WARNING:Blueberry leaves contain  moderately high concentrations of tannin; so. while they may, and often are used as tea; they should not be used for extended periods of time.
© Al (Alex, Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.