Vegetative cover, fruiting phenology, and seed production was estimated from sixVacciniaheathlands on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland so that the efficacy of theVacciniumseed bank could be ascertained. Out of the six species ofVacciniumpresent in this vegetation, onlyV.angustifoliumandV.borealewere recovered from 120 soil cores taken;V.uliginosumandV.vitis-idaea, two of the most common species on these heaths, were not represented in the seed bank at all, yet experimentally buried seeds from both these taxa will successfully germinate when exhumed after 6 years of burial. Indeed, 81% of the germinants were from taxa with dry fruits such asKalmia,Luzula,Juncus, andAgrostis. Paucity ofVacciniumseed in the soil column may be due in part to fungal rot and avian predation.Key words:Vaccinium, seed production, seed banks, heaths.