The blueberry
genus, Vaccinium L., is one of the
largest and most important in the heath family, Ericaceae, which ironically includes several toxic species such as those
in the same genus as azaleas, Rhododendron L., and mountain laurel, Kalmia
latifolia L., but not species of blueberry is toxic although a few are not palatable.
Several species in the blueberry
genus are grown for commercial fruit production including: cranberry, V.
macrocarpon Aiton, and highbush blueberry, V.
corymbosum L., to the north while to the south there is rabbiteye blueberry, V. ashei Rehder, which is synonymous with smallflower
blueberry, V. virgatum Aiton. A few other species and hybrids are also available
including southern highbush, which is planted commercially and variously
reported to be a southern variety of highbush or a hybrid with a southern
species as well as the name being used interchangeably for rabbiteye blueberry. The others are dwarf sized plants and intended for use in home gardens with little
available space where those suitable for planting to the north are lowbush
blueberry, V. angustifolium Aiton, California
huckleberry, V. ovatum Pursh, and the ‘Tophat’
cultiver, which is a hybrid of lowbush and highbush suitable for containers,
while those originating in the south are Darrow’s blueberry, V. darrowii Camp, and shiny blueberry, V. myrsinetes Lam., which is also known as
southern evergreen blueberry although both southern species are evergreen.
Many people use the terms
blueberry and huckleberry interchangeably, or at least use huckleberry when referring to wild
blueberries, but true huckleberries are reported to be inferior to blueberries, which is just the opposite of the claims made for the wild blueberries that are called huckleberries. I have never seen or at least
noticed a true huckleberry, which is in the genus Gaylussacia Kunth, because there is a range gap in areas I frequent most. My best guesses for the species of wild
blueberries that are called huckleberries in northeast Alabama are black
highbush, V. fuscatum Aiton, Elliot’s
blueberry, V. elliottii Chapm., and
Two other local blueberry
species that are not particularly tasty are deerberry, V. stanineum L., which has large juicy berries with an attached stem,
and it is often called a gooseberry although gooseberies are actually in the genus Ribes L. , and the other, V. arboretum Marsh., is known as sparkleberry,
farkleberry, and winter huckleberry, respectively because the leaves are shiny,
the berries are a joke being little more than skin and seed thus having the
texture of sand after ripening very late, and being persist due to birds only
eating them when desperate. Deerberry has the most attractive flowers in the genus. Sparkleberry
is the largest shrub or even a small tree in the genus as the specific epithet
meaning tree indicates thus there is an