Gaylussacia dumosa
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- gay-luh-SAY-shee-uh doo-MO-suh
- Description
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Dwarf Huckleberry is a 2-foot deciduous shrub. The leaves are alternate with a fuzzy margin and yellow resin dots on the underside. A tiny pointed tip occurs on the end of all adult leaves. The bark is gray-brown and finely peeling. Small, white to pale pink flowers mature in the spring. The shrub produces a small, blue to black drupe that matures in late summer. The fruit is edible.
The drupes are edible by humans and wildlife alike and mature late summer into fall. It is sometimes confused with a blueberry plant and the blooms are very similar being bell-shaped and white. However, the fruits of the blueberry are much preferred over Huckleberries for edibility.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Gaylussacia
- Species:
- dumosa
- Family:
- Ericaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- West Virginia to South East U.S.A
- Distribution:
- USA: AL , CT , DC , DE , FL , GA , LA , MA , MD , ME , MS , NC , NH , NJ , NY , PA , RI , SC , TN , VA , WV Canada: NB , NL , NS , PE
- Fire Risk Rating:
- medium flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant provides nectar for pollinators. It is a host plant for Henry's Elfin (Callophrys henrici) larvae which appear from February to May and have one flight. Adult Henry's Elfin butterflies feed on flower nectar. Butterflies are attracted to its blooms. Its fruits are eaten by birds and mammals such as raccoon, gray fox, red fox, skunk, chipmunk, and squirrel. Dwarf huckleberry is also eaten by roughed grouse, wild turkey, and quail.
- Play Value:
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Edibility:
- Fruit - raw or cooked and used as a pie filling etc.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 2 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 1 ft. 0 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Edible
- Native Plant
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Dense
- Erect
- Rounded
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Dry
- Available Space To Plant:
- 12 inches-3 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Black
- Blue
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Summer
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Description:
- The fruit is a berry with 10 nutlets, each carrying one seed. It is shiny blue-black in color. Displays from June to October.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Cream/Tan
- Pink
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Raceme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Shape:
- Bell
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- The cream-colored, 5 petaled, blooms bloom from March to June and are borne on racemes at the end of branchlets. Similar to blueberry blooms.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Leathery
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Elliptical
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- The leathery leaves are 1 inch long and widest towards the tip with a fuzzy margin. The lower surface is glandular with yellow resin dots.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Peeling
- Bark Description:
- Its bark is gray-brown and finely peeling.
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Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Hairy (pubescent)
- Stem Description:
- The twigs are usually copiously pubescent with short, curly hairs.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Coastal
- Woodland
- Landscape Theme:
- Butterfly Garden
- Edible Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Attracts:
- Bees
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
