Box Huckleberry, Evergreen Huckleberry            vak-SIN-ee-um o-VA-tum

• Evergreen shrub, 3-5(8) ft [0.9-1.5(2.4) m], neat, erect, compact generally, but can have erratic growth habit (e.g., some long erect shoots).  Leaves small, alternate, oval to laceolate, 4 cm long, toothed, leathery, glossy dark green, generally closely spaced along reddish stems.  (Used in the florist industry.)  Pale pink, urn-shaped flowers borne on short racemes in spring.  Fruit at first is red, turning blue-black in late summer, edible.
• Sun to part shade.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7      Found along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to California.   Introduced into cultivation by David Douglas in 1826.
• Corvallis: Central Park, south side, east of Gazebo.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: east side Gilmore Hall.