Elliott's huckleberry
Vaccinium elliottii Chapm.
  • FAMILY: ERICACEAE
  • ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: summer blueberry
  • LEAVES: deciduous, alternate, simple; elliptic to oblanceolate or obovate, 0.75- 1.5“ long; margins finely serrate
  • FLOWER: scorolla white, urn-shaped, appearing in early spring, in clusters of 2-6 from buds on previous season’s wood
  • FRUIT: blue berry, not glaucous, 0.2-0.4” broad, bearing remnant calyx teeth at the tip (ovary inferior), maturing in late spring; edible
  • TWIGS: younger twigs green
  • BARK: bark of older plants thin, reddish brown, with narrow shreddy ridges
  • FORM: multi-stemmed shrub to ca. 10’ tall
  • HABITAT: mesic forests along small streams and on slopes, hummocks in baygalls
  • WETLAND DESIGNATION: Facultative Upland (FACW): Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Plain Region
  • RANGE: southeastern US [US County Range Map]
  • USES: ornamental; fruits edible
  • WILDLIFE: provides nectar for bees and hummingbirds when floral resources are scarce, berries eaten by many mammals and birds, low to moderate deer browse, utilized mainly in fall and winter
  • Best Recognition Features:
    1. shrub of mesic forests, younger twigs green, leaves alternate
    2. small elliptic leaves that are finely serrate
    3. small delicious blueberries in late spring