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Common Name: Dwarf Huckleberry

General Information

Gaylussacia dumosa is a deciduous shrub that can grow up to 0.30 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

,

Range

Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Florida and Louisiana.

Habitat

Dry barrens and pinelands[] near the coast[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	0.30 m
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Requires a lime-free moist peaty soil, thriving in sun or part shade[, ]. Prefers a sandy soil[]. Succeeds in wetter soils than other members of this genus[].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[].
A very ornamental[] and freely suckering shrub[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked and used as a pie filling etc[, , ]. Juicy and deliciously spicy[]. Watery and insipid[], though commonly eaten according to another report[]. Not much valued[]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[].

Medicinal

None known

Other Uses

None known

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.