During the Upper Rogue River hike with Oregon Wild two weeks ago to learn more about the Crater Lake Wilderness Proposal, I continually had to slow down to pick the berries that were tantalizingly close to the trail. Some of the berries were that distinctive dark bluish-purple that I have always considered huckleberries while others were definitely the color and shape of domesticated blueberries. Our guide from Oregon Wild said a botanist had informed her that all of them were huckleberries. I was not exactly convinced. The leaves were very similar in shape but the branches looked different in color and the berries were obviously very different in color and somewhat in size too.

While hiking up to Old Snowy, the same thing happened. Two similar looking plants but with obviously different berries. While absorbing the blessed fruits of the internet (mmmm, YouTube!), I decided to do a few Google searches and finally solve this mystery to my satisfaction. Not all of the links are helpful, but here was the ah-ha moment:

Western Huckleberries
Like their blueberry brethren, Western huckleberries (Vaccinium spp.) have five chambers in the ovary. Both the flowers and fruit look similar to blueberries, but Western huckleberries produce single berries rather than clusters, where their leaves join the stem, and bear fruit on new shoots. Huckleberries resist domestication, so they are harvested from the wild. A single plant yields less than a blueberry plant would, but each fruit contains intense flavor-causing chemicals, making it more flavorful. The black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) is widely harvested for its black, purple or red fruit. Cascade huckleberry's (Vaccinium deliciosum) bright blue berries are, as its species name suggests, delicious. Both grow in USDA zones 4 through 8.

Source: ehow.com

Finally having the scientific names proved extremely helpful. Wikipedia has entries on both Vaccinium deliciosum and Vaccinium membranaceum with photos easily found via a Google images search. The Vaccinium genus includes both berries and also the lingonberry and cranberry, of all things. According to the taxonomy section on Wikipedia, there are 450 species (look at all the kinds of berries!) and genetic analysis might require a slight restructuring of this genus before too long.

So, I suppose, more or less, the mystery is solved. They can be described as both! Of course, from now on, I think I am just going to call one the Mountain Huckleberry and the other Cascade Blueberry. Makes more sense in my mind and a bit more memorable too.