Gaylussacia baccata
| Gaylussacia baccata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-6.5 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 3' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Gaylussacia baccata (common name: black huckleberry)
Propagation: Seed - best sown in the autumn in a cold frame[1]. Stored seed requires 1 month warm stratification followed by 2 months cold[2]. 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, July/August in a frame[1].
Layering.
Division in spring.
Cultivation: Requires a lime-free moist peaty soil, thriving in sun or part shade[3][4][1].
Plants are hardy to about -15°c[1].
Occasionally cultivated for its edible fruit, there are some named varieties selected for their larger fruits[5][6].
The small oval leaves are covered with globules on the underside from which a resinous gum is exuded[7].
Range: Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Georgia, Manitoba, Wisconsin and Kentucky.
Habitat: Dry or moist woods, thickets and clearings[8], on acidic sandy soils[1].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[9][3][10]. Deliciously spicy and sweet, they can be eaten out of hand or used in pies, preserves etc[11]. They can also be dried for later use[12]. The dried fruit can be ground into a powder then mixed with cereal flours to make bread[13]. The fruit is rather seedy[14]. The fruit is about 8mm in diameter[1].
Medicinal: An infusion of the leaves, or the bark, has been used in the treatment of dysentery[13].
An infusion of the leaves has been used in the treatment of Bright's disease[13].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: G. resinosa. Andromeda baccata. Vaccinium resinosum.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
- ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.