Vaccinium membranaceum Douglas ex Torr.

Plants forming small to extensive clumps, rarely crown-forming, 2-30 dm, not rhizomatous; twigs of current season yellow-green or reddish green, terete to slightly angled, glabrous or hairy in lines. Leaf blades usually green, broadly elliptic to ovate, 25-50 × 11-23 mm, margins sharply serrate, surfaces glandular abaxially. Flowers: calyx green, obscurely lobed, glabrous; corolla white, cream, yellowish pink, or bronze, globose to urceolate, 3-5 × 5-7 mm, thin, glaucous; filaments glabrous. Berries shiny or dull black or deep purple, rarely red or white, 9-13 mm diam. Seeds ca. 1 mm. 2n = 48.

It is a cold temperate plant. It grows near the timberline in the Rocky Mountains. It suits cold, upland places. It can tolerate temperatures down to-40°C. It normally needs moist conditions. It can tolerate drought. It benefits from an acidic organic mulch. It is not tolerant to wind. It does best with a pH of 4.5-6.

The fruit are eaten raw. They are also used for pies, dried or in preserves. The fruit can be dried and stored.

It is not easy to grow outside in natural environment. It can be grown from seed or by suckers. It does not transplant easily.