Gaylussacia dumosa
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Dwarf Huckleberry
Ericaceae
Plant Specifics
| Form: | Shrub | |
| Size: | 1-2 ft tall, similar in width, but spreads by rhizomes to form large colonies. | |
| Life Span: | Long-lived perennial | |
| Flower Color: | White | |
| Fruit Color: | Black | |
| Phenology: | Deciduous | |
| Noted for: | Fall color, Showy flowers |
Landscaping
| Recommended Uses: | Groundcover for dry sites. Clonal (forms small clumps of stems).It has deep red foliage in fall. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Considerations: | Slow growing and difficult to establish. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Propagation: | Seed. Division. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Availability: | Seed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Light: | Full Sun, Part Shade | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: |
always floodedextremely dry |
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| (Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Moisture Tolerance: | Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Very long very dry periods | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Water Flooding Tolerance: | Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance: | Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil or other substrate: | Sand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Soil pH: | Acidic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ecology
| Wildlife: |
Birds and small mammals eat the fruit. | |
| Insects: | Attracts native bees includeing Augochlorella aurata, A. gratiosa, Megachile breuis pseudobrevis, M. integrella plus the non-native Apis mellifera (honeybee) and Bombus irnpatiens (Deyrup et al. 2002). | |
| Native Habitats: | Sandhills, flatwoods, flatwoods, flatwoods-wetland transition zones, hydric seep slopes including cutthroat seeps and edges of shrub-tree bogs, scrubby flatwoods, scrub. |
Distribution and Planting Zones
Natural Range in Florida
USDA Zones
Suitable to grow in:
10A 10B 8A 8B 9A 9B
USDA zones are based on minimum winter temperatures
Comments
| Ethnobotany: | Edible. Sometimes used in pies and jams. Seedy. |