Vaccinium arboreum Marshall

Sparkleberry; Farkleberry; Tree Huckleberry

Tree

Perennial

Vascular

Winter Huckleberry is a native large shrub or small tree in the Heath family (Ericaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. Winter Huckleberry occurs in pine woodlands, on sand hills, in dry hardwood forests, on fence rows, in rocky woods, along rivers and streams, and on cut-over land. Winter Huckleberry grows from 8-30 feet in height. It may be a multi-trunked shrub or a small tree with a single trunk. It has gray to reddish-brown, thin, smooth or flakey bark. The alternate leaves are thick and leathery. They are evergreen (in the south) to tardily deciduous. The leaves often become red or purplish red during the winter. The leaves are oval to oblong in outline and have entire or remotely dentate margins. The upper surface of the leaf is green and lustrous. The lower surface may be glaucous, dull green and glabrous, or glandular-pubescent. The flowers are white, bell shaped, and arranged in drooping racemes. Racemes are produced near the tips of the twigs of the previous year’s growth. The fruit is a shiny black berry with 8-10 hard seed. The fruit is dry and mealy in texture and varies from sweet to sour in taste. Winter Huckleberry is unusual among blueberries in that it can tolerate neutral or calcareous soils. It is drought tolerant and can grow in nutrient poor soils. Twigs are grazed by deer and rabbits, and many species of birds and mammals feed on the fruit.--A. Diamond

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Native FACU (NWPL)

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