• Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Gaylussacia dumosa

dwarf huckleberry

Nomenclature

Common Name:

dwarf huckleberry

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Gaylussacia dumosa

Family:

Ericaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

1-2 ft tall, similar in width, but spreads by rhizomes to form large colonies.

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

black

Phenology:

deciduous

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Fall Color

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Groundcover for dry sites. Clonal (forms small clumps of stems).It has deep red foliage in fall.

Considerations:

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Availability:

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Propagation:

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Light:

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Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Somewhat moist, no flooding -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Acidic

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds, Mammals

Attracts native bees includeing  Augochlorella aurata, A. gratiosa, Megachile breuis pseudobrevis, M. integrella plus the non-native Apis mellifera  (honeybee) and Bombus irnpatiens   (Deyrup et al. 2002).

Birds and small mammals eat the fruit. 

Native Habitats:

Sandhills, flatwoods, flatwoods, flatwoods-wetland transition zones, hydric seep slopes including cutthroat seeps and edges of shrub-tree bogs, scrubby flatwoods, scrub.

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

Edible. Sometimes used in pies and jams. Seedy.

General Comments: