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black huckleberry, crackleberry

Blue Ridge huckleberry

Habit Plants 3–10(–15) dm, forming small to extensive colonies; branches spreading; twigs of current season pale green, glabrous. Plants 4–10 dm, forming small colonies (by rhizomes); branches ascending; twigs of current season grayish brown, puberulent and sparsely stipitate-glandular, becoming glabrate.
Leaves

petiole 1–2(–4) mm;

blade pale green abaxially, green to yellowish green adaxially, ovate to oblong, (2–)2.5–5 × 1–2.5 cm, membranous to subcoriaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces glabrous, sometimes puberulent on major veins, sessile-glandular.

petiole 0.5–1.5 mm;

blade light green abaxially, dark green adaxially, oblanceolate to obovate, 1.9–2.9 × 0.9–1.2 cm, subcoriaceous, base cuneate, margins entire, (scattered stipitate-glandular-hairy and ciliate, 6–8 cilia per mm), apex subacute, mucronate, surfaces persistently stipitate-glandular-hairy and sessile-glandular (often sparsely stellate-eglandular-hairy abaxially).

Inflorescences

drooping, 3–7-flowered, bracteate, 0.5–1.5 cm, glabrous;

bracts early-deciduous, not leaflike (linear-lanceolate), 2–4 mm, shorter than pedicels, glabrous, sessile-glandular.

erect or arching, 4–8-flowered, bracteate, 2–5 cm, hairy and stipitate-glandular;

bracts persistent, leaflike, 2–5 mm, expanding to 5–10 mm, longer than pedicels, densely stipitate-glandular-hairy (hairs 0.3–0.5 mm).

Pedicels

3–6 mm, glabrous, sessile-glandular;

bracteoles 1(–2), 1–2 mm.

2–3 mm, stipitate-glandular-hairy;

bracteoles 1–2, 2–5 mm.

Flowers

sepals 5, 0.7–1 mm, glabrous, sessile-glandular;

petals 4–5, corolla orange to red, campanulate-conic, 4–5 mm, lobes 0.5–0.7 mm;

filaments 2 mm, glabrous;

anthers included, 2.2–2.5 mm, thecae divergent distally;

ovary glabrous.

sepals 5, 2 mm, densely stipitate-glandular-hairy (hairs 0.3–0.5 mm);

petals 5, corolla white, campanulate, 5.5–6.5 mm (averaging 6 mm), lobes triangular, 1–1.5 mm;

filaments 0.3–0.5 mm, sparsely hairy;

anthers included, 2.5–3.2 mm (averaging 2.8 mm), thecae divergent distally;

ovary glandular-hairy (hairs 0.3–0.5 mm).

Drupes

juicy, sweet, glossy black (sometimes blue, rarely white), 6–7 mm diam., glabrous.

juicy, insipid, black, 6–8 mm diam., sparsely glandular-hairy.

Seeds

ca. 2 mm.

1.5–1.8 mm.

2n

= 24.

Gaylussacia baccata

Gaylussacia orocola

Phenology Flowering late spring. Flowering late spring–early summer.
Habitat Sandy or rocky soil in deciduous, pine, or mixed woods, roadsides, pastures, and utility rights-of-way, wet, acidic bogs, fens Peaty montane seepage bogs
Elevation 0-800 m (0-2600 ft) 500-1800 m (1600-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
NC
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Gaylussacia orocola is known from five counties in western North Carolina, where it inhabits montane bogs in the Blue Ridge Mountains with other rare or disjunct taxa, such as Sarracenia jonesii, S. purpurea var. montana, and Myrica gale.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 534. FNA vol. 8, p. 533.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Gaylussacia Ericaceae > subfam. Vaccinioideae > Gaylussacia
Sibling taxa
G. bigeloviana, G. brachycera, G. dumosa, G. frondosa, G. mosieri, G. nana, G. orocola, G. tomentosa, G. ursina
G. baccata, G. bigeloviana, G. brachycera, G. dumosa, G. frondosa, G. mosieri, G. nana, G. tomentosa, G. ursina
Synonyms Andromeda baccata, Decachaena baccata, G. baccata var. glaucocarpa Lasiococcus orocola
Name authority (Wangenheim) K. Koch: Dendrologie 2(1): 93. 1872 , (Small) Camp: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 62: 132. 1935 ,
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