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Vaccinium membranaceum; photograph author not stated, no rights reserved CC0author not stated, no rights reserved · observed growing wild · 2026-08-31

Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr.

Montana huckleberry; Siskiyou Mountain Huckleberry; Black huckleberry; Mountain bilberry

Ericaceae · Alberta, British Columbia +12

Cited as Kew's World Checklist cites it, Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr.: GBIF's backbone key for this page carries the name with another author, Douglas ex Hook.

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Vaccinium membranaceum, photograph (c) Jake Anderson, some rights reserved (CC BY)Vaccinium membranaceum, photograph (c) Sean Vanderluit, some rights reserved (CC BY)Vaccinium membranaceum, photograph author not stated, no rights reservedVaccinium membranaceum, photograph author not stated, no rights reservedVaccinium membranaceum, photograph (c) Caleb Catto, some rights reserved (CC BY)Vaccinium membranaceum, photograph (c) Caleb Catto, some rights reserved (CC BY) 76 photographs ›
Habitat figures
Cold floor (1 night in 100)
-20.5°C
Record low -35.7 °C in 44 years, at a typical spot in the range NASA POWER
Warmest month, mean daily high
22°C
Jul and Aug at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
1,362mm
12 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
7–45DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in your months, northern hemisphere
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Wet winters: the rain comes October to March and May, with nights below freezing; no growing season read. rain rule, CHELSA
Northern hemisphere unless you set your site. The chart is in the habitat's months.

Summary

Vaccinium membranaceum is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, known by the common names thinleaf huckleberry, tall huckleberry, big huckleberry, mountain huckleberry, square-twig blueberry, and "black huckleberry".

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Vaccinium membranaceum", CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the genus · Vaccinium

Vaccinium is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whortleberry), lingonberry (cowberry), and huckleberry. Like many other heath plants, they are restricted to acidic soils.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Vaccinium", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Seasons

The rain rule reads a rainy season and no growing season: 70% of the median year's rain (927 mm of 1,297 mm) falls in October to March and May, the cooler part of the year, but the mean nightly low is below freezing in February, March, April, December and January, so the rule reads no growing season from it. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: April to September and November.

Rain

1,297 mm in the median year at the habitat, 927 mm of it October to March and May. Wettest month November at 169 mm, driest month August at 50 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 759 mm to 2,869 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 1,362 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 1,297 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, northern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 7 to 45 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 5, the highest 90th-percentile month 50).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range is -20.5 °C, the absolute minimum -35.7 °C, 9,837 frost nights in 44 years, 223.6 a year (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 25.0 °C. Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low -8.8 °C in December (across the grid cells of the range -14.8 °C to -3.9 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 22.1 °C in August (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: -20.5 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range (NASA POWER).

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 52 to 65% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. NASA POWER daily minima and maxima over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, lapse-corrected +349 m to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. The cold floor is the 1st-percentile night named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat months, northern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Vaccinium membranaceum through the yearWarmest months July and August, mean daily high 22 °C; coldest month December, mean nightly low -8.8 °C; 1,297 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA; the extremes at the edge from NASA POWER. Habitat months, northern hemisphere.-40°-20°0°20°40°frost25.0° 99th-percentile day, NASA POWER-35.7° lowest night in 44 years, NASA POWER°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400500mm rainDLI 7–45RH 52–65%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 1034 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low extremes over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, from NASA POWER, marked at the edge, in no month DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C-2 / -7–30 / -5–54 / -1–77 / 3–1112 / 8–1617 / 13–2122 / 17–2622 / 18–2618 / 13–2110 / 5–142 / -3–6-2 / -8–2
Night °C-8 / -14–-4-8 / -13–-3-5 / -10–-2-3 / -6–01 / -3–55 / 2–99 / 6–129 / 6–125 / 2–90 / -4–4-5 / -11–-1-9 / -15–-4
Rain mm153 / 62–424111 / 45–309112 / 50–30095 / 53–206104 / 64–15999 / 54–15553 / 23–9850 / 23–9473 / 36–129111 / 58–292169 / 70–467167 / 66–446
DLI8 / 6–1215 / 12–1924 / 20–2834 / 30–3739 / 35–4342 / 37–4845 / 39–5039 / 34–4429 / 24–3417 / 14–239 / 7–137 / 5–10
RH %65 / 60–6862 / 59–6561 / 58–6458 / 55–6357 / 53–6256 / 52–6253 / 46–6052 / 46–6055 / 48–6059 / 53–6365 / 60–6965 / 60–69
How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 1034 grid cells holding the 1532 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 846:1180 (47.675, -120.975). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum -35.7 °C, 1st-percentile night -20.5 °C, 99th-percentile day 25.0 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 1034 distinct grid cells holding 1532 of the 1532 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 846:1180 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 47.50_-121.250, lapse-corrected +349 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 1547 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeAlberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, South Dakota, Michigan, Arizona, California, Utah · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker48.821, -116.925 · in the densest population, 964 records (40% of those in range)
Kew's description“subshrub” · “subalpine or subarctic” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 2409 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 1532 of them placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 1336 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 317 km away. 7 records outside the WCVP native range not used. 877 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 2882875 (Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr.): Kew's file holds it as Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr. (accepted); 900 records, from GBIF's search API on the day of the build.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 2° block of the 2409 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Vaccinium membranaceum, photograph 1did not loadVaccinium membranaceum, photograph 2did not loadVaccinium membranaceum, photograph 3did not loadVaccinium membranaceum, photograph 4did not loadVaccinium membranaceum, photograph 5did not loadVaccinium membranaceum, photograph 6did not load

Photographs: (c) Jake Anderson, some rights reserved (CC BY); (c) Sean Vanderluit, some rights reserved (CC BY); author not stated, no rights reserved · CC0 (2); (c) Caleb Catto, some rights reserved (CC BY) (2).

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Claytonia cordifolia Claytonia cordifolia Heart-leaved spring-beauty Photo: CC BY, John BrewAngelica arguta Angelica arguta Sharp-toothed angelica Photo: CC BY, machaut2Polemonium californicum Polemonium californicum California Jacob's ladder Photo: CC BY, John BrewCryptogramma acrostichoides Cryptogramma acrostichoides American parsley fern Photo: CC BY, Stevie SteelePlatanthera dilatata Platanthera dilatata White bog orchid Photo: CC BY, Matt BergerPinus contorta Pinus contorta Lodgepole pine Photo: CC BY, Adam Kamal

Other Vaccinium 68 in the reference

Vaccinium acrobracteatum Ericaceae Vaccinium angustifolium Vaccinium angustifolium Lowbush blueberry Photo: CC0, author not statedVaccinium arboreum Vaccinium arboreum Sparkleberry Photo: CC0, author not statedVaccinium arctostaphylos Vaccinium arctostaphylos Caucasian whortleberry Photo: CC BY, Анна Vaccinium ashei Ericaceae Vaccinium auriculifolium Ericaceae Vaccinium bancanum Ericaceae Vaccinium bracteatum Vaccinium bracteatum Sea bilberry Photo: CC BY, Jacy ChenVaccinium cespitosum Vaccinium cespitosum Dwarf bilberry Photo: CC0, author not stated Vaccinium clementis Ericaceae Vaccinium corymbosum Vaccinium corymbosum Highbush blueberry Photo: CC BY, Tom Scavo Vaccinium cumingianum Ericaceae all 69 ›

Names & registers

Also known as Vaccinium coccineum; Vaccinium globulare; Vaccinium macrophyllum; Vaccinium membranaceum var. rigidum; Vaccinium myrtilloides var. macrophyllum and 1 more. (GBIF Backbone)

GBIFPOWOIPNIWFOWikidataWikipediaiNaturalist

The record

Family
Ericaceae
Described by
Douglas ex Torr.
Native to
Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario +11
Wild records
2409 in range · 1336 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
GBIF species record gbif.species answeredasked 2026-10-22GBIF's key 9060377 is Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Hook.; the page links Kew's Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr., and the name is cited as Kew cites it
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms answeredasked 2026-10-22
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular answeredasked 2026-10-22names fetched 2026-10-22
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredasked 2026-10-22GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 900 records of GBIF's key 2882875, Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr. (Kew's file holds it as Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr. (accepted)): GBIF occurrence search API; 1 record within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (1 at a botanic garden or arboretum; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 47.50_-121.250, lapse-corrected +349 m at 6.5 °C/km
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22found by its label; its POWO identifier 859019-1 is Kew's for Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr.
Wikipedia wikipedia answeredasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild answeredasked 2026-10-22from iNaturalist's open data of 2026-09-27: research-grade observations with an open-licence photograph, the 24 whose photographs iNaturalist received last (the open data holds no votes); filled 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media answeredasked 2026-10-22read from the page's key and its other keys: 23 from GBIF's key 2882875
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 88 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

Cultifolio

Opening your plants…