Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gaylussacia ursina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Bear Huckleberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gaylussacia ursina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Gaylussacia ursina
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-18-005:
Gaylussacia ursina FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Decachaena ursina
COMMON NAME:
Bear Huckleberry, Buckberry, Mountain Huckleberry, Bearberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm0504s_36
April Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
A narrow Southern Appalachian endemic, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_743
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Small, pendant white (tinged with red) flowers in short racemes, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_745
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate, upper surface not glandular, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_745b
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Sepals 0.5mm, glabrous, sparsely sessile-glandular, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_748b
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves slightly hairy below and with tiny resinous dots, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm230428_2800
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
)
JK Marlow jkm230428_2823
April Greenville County SC
Mountain Bridge Wilderness
)
JK Marlow jkm120523_278
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm120523_278b
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Fruit has a flat base, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm120523_279b
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Leaves with golden, sessile glands on the lower surface only, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_947
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
Leaves with a blunt projection at the tip of the tapering apex, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm140519_953
May Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm160502_009
May Transylvania County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm160502_009b
May Transylvania County NC
Calyx lobes obtuse, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm200613_5836
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm200613_5906
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
A low shrub often forming colonies or extensive stands 2-4' in height, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm0307h_22
July Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0307i_17
July Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Leaves elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate, apex acute to acuminate, mucronate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm190704_9771
July Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm190704_9772
July Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm190704_9772b
July Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm220705_8918
July Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220705_8922
July Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Fruit a 10-seeded berry on a long stalk, shiny black when ripe, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gaylussacia ursina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gaylussacia ursina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Gaylussacia ursina
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-18-005:
Gaylussacia ursina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Decachaena ursina
598
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Mesic to xeric forests, frequently dominant; common, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains (rare in Piedmont)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Reddish/Greenish
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
4-5 lobed urceolate to urceolate-campanulate corolla
10 included stamens
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in axillary racemes on 2nd-year wood
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Black/Rarely blue or white
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p168
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p189
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p236
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p115
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p28
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p284
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p150
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".