How to Grow and Care for Huckleberry

This low growing shrub, the dwarf huckleberry, grows well in part-shade and sandy soils. It produces a shiny, dark-blue berry in the late summer and fall that is believed to be edible.

Black huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata) is a huckleberry plant native to the eastern regions of the United States and North America. This shrub resembles blueberry plants and grows side-by-side to blueberries in their native habitats. Black huckleberry attracts butterflies and serves as a home for their larvae.

Dangleberry is found along the eastern United States. It will grow happily in poor soils, along swamps, and in wooded areas. Dangleberry, or Gaylussacia frondosa, spreads via underground rhizomes. Bell-shaped flowers appear in spring, followed by dark blue or black, juicy berries.

Gaylussacia bigeloviana is a shrub up to 1 m tall, sometimes forming small colonies. It has thick, leathery leaves, shiny on the top side, pale green on the underside. Flowers are in groups of 3-7, white, pink, or red. Fruits are black, juicy but bland-tasting. The species grows in swamps and marshes, including acidic bogs alongside Sphagnum peatmosses.

Gaylussacia nana is a shrub up to 1 m tall, sometimes forming large colonies of hundreds of individuals. It has dull green to yellow-green leaves up to 4 cm long. Inflorescences hang from the leaf axils or from the tips of branches, with 1-4 greenish-white flowers. Fruits are sweet and juicy, usually dark blue but sometimes white, up to 8 mm in diameter.