huckleberry

/huk"euhl ber'ee/, n., pl. huckleberries.

1. the dark-blue or black edible berry of any of various shrubs belonging to the genus Gaylussacia of the heath family.

2. a shrub bearing such fruit.

3. blueberry (def. 1).

[1660-70, Amer.; perh. alter. of HURTLEBERRY]

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Small, fruit-bearing, branching shrub of the genus Gaylussacia, in the heath family, resembling in habit the English bilberry, to which it is closely related.

It bears fleshy fruit with 10 nutlike seeds, differing in this respect from the blueberry. The common huckleberry of the northern U.S. is G. baccata, also called black, or highbush, huckleberry. The florists', or evergreen, huckleberry is actually a blueberry. The red huckleberry of the southern U.S. is commonly called the southern cranberry.

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▪ shrub

      small, fruit-bearing, branching shrub of the genus Gaylussacia (family Ericaceae), resembling in habit the English bilberry (Vaccinium), to which it is closely allied. The huckleberry bears fleshy fruit with 10 small stones, differing in this respect from the blueberry, so that the fruits, although tasty, are rather crunchy. The common huckleberry of the eastern United States and Canada is G. baccata, also called black, or high-bush, huckleberry. G. brachycera and G. dumosa are known, respectively, as box and dwarf, or bush, huckleberry. G. brachycera can form huge clones, some of which are thousands of years old, by vegetative reproduction. The florists', or evergreen, huckleberry is actually a blueberry. The cultivation of huckleberries is essentially the same as for blueberries, requiring acidic and moist but well-drained soil. The red huckleberry of the southern United States is commonly called the southern cranberry.

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