Gaylussacia frondosa (Blue huckleberry)

FloraFinder uses cookies only for correct operation. More info. Okay

Gaylussacia frondosa (L.) Torr. & A. Gray ex Torr.

Blue huckleberry, dangleberry, hairy dangleberry

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Ericales	Tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, azalea, many others
Family	Ericaceae	Heath or heather family
Genus	Gaylussacia	For chemist and physicist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac
Species	frondosa	“Leafy,” probably a reference to the relatively large leaves

About plant names...

Blue huckleberry is a North American native plant. I had to laugh when I first encountered another of its common names: dangleberry. That's the feature I immediately noticed when I first saw the plants, berries hanging on long stems instead of closely clustered like most of the related species.

Identification: Shrubs are deciduous, heavily branched, and up to 6½' (2 m) in height. Leaves are up to 2½" (7 cm) × 1¼" (3.5 cm), and hairy and glandular on the leaf bottoms. Flowers are greenish-white. Fruits are ¼" (8 mm) in diameter, usually blue, but may be black or even white. Flowers and fruits hang on long petioles.

This Gaylussacia and Vaccinium comparision chart compares these closely related genera, both of which contain plants called huckleberries.

Edibility: Berries are edible. They are sweet and tasty, similar in taste to blueberries.

Online References:

Www.carolinanature.com

Wikipedia

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 10 × 7" (25 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 8" (12 × 19 cm) ID is uncertain

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 28 cm) ID is uncertain

Decachaena frondosa (L.) Torr. & A. Gray

Gaylussacia frondosa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 7" (28 × 18 cm) ID is uncertain

8/2/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

8/17/2013 · Hopkinton State Park, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

8/2/2010 · Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

Range:

About this map...