Virginia Tech Dendrology

dwarf bilberry Ericaceae Vaccinium cespitosum Michx. symbol: VACE
Leaf: Alternate, simple, elliptical to oblanceolate, 1/2 to 2 inches long, margins serrate to the midpoint, tip rounded, green above and paler beneath.
Flower: Small (1/4 inch), solitary, white to red, bell-shaped but twice as long as wide, appearing after the leaves.
Fruit: Small, blue berries with a white bloom, edible and sweet.
Twig: Slender, zigzag, yellow-green to red; buds small and pointed.
Bark: Gray-brown to reddish brown, finely shreddy.
Form: Low growing, highly branched deciduous shrub usually under 18” tall; erect but mat-forming.
Looks like: velvet-leaf blueberry - ovalleaf huckleberry - big huckleberry - bilberry

Additional Range Information: Vaccinium cespitosum is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information