Box Huckleberry

GAYLUSSACIA BRACHYCERA - NATIVE BOX Huckleberry - A spreading evergreen broadleaf groundcover that is hardy in zones 3-7. Growing 6-10" tall and spreading 2-3' wide, likes bright shade and acidic soil. A self fertile groundcover with shiny dark green foliage producing white to pink bell like flowers in spring to mid summer. Small blue black berries resembling blueberries in late summer. We grow and ship in 1 gallon pots Gaylussacia brachycera is easily distinguished from other members of its genus by its leaves: they resemble those of boxwood (hence its name) and lack the resin glands typical of huckleberries. Like its relatives, it bears white urn-shaped flowers in the early summer, which develop to blue, edible berries in late summer. It is mostly found in Appalachia; many of its stations there were known to natives, who picked and ate the berries, before botanists became aware of them in the 1920s.