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Common Name: Box Huckleberry

General Information

Gaylussacia brachycera is an evergreen shrub that can grow up to 0.45 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and source of materials.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Eastern N. America - Delaware and Pennsylvania to Virginia.

Habitat

On slopes and in dry sandy woods[] on dry acidic sandy soils[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	0.45 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a lime-free moist peaty soil, thriving in sun or part shade[, ]. Prefers a position in partial or full shade[].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[].
This species rarely sets viable seed[].
There is a colony in New Jersey that covers 3.8 hectares of land, it is estimated to be 10,000 years old and to have originated vegetatively from one single mother plant[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[, ]. Not highly regarded[]. Tasteless[, ]. The fruit is about 12mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

A good ground cover plant[]. Spreading quite freely, it should be spaced about 30cm apart each way[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame[]. Stored seed requires 1 month warm stratification followed by 2 months cold[]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots of lime-free compost and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer when they are at least 15cm tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[].
Layering.
Division in spring.