Black Huckleberry
Gaylussacia baccata
Found in dry, acidic forests and woodlands, rock outcrops, to 1600m elevation. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
80
Keystone
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–3 feet
- Spread
- 2–4 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 3 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 11 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to June
- Fruiting season
- July to August
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Recorded in 3 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 99 animals.
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Long-eared OwlAsio otus
- Orchard OrioleIcterus spurius
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
34CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Gaylussacia
- Acleris curvalanaBlueberry Leaftier Moth
- Acrobasis vacciniiCranberry Fruitworm
- Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Antaeotricha leucillanaWell-Marked Leaf Tier, Pale Gray Bird-Dropping Moth
- Antheraea polyphemusPolyphemus Moth
- Archips purpuranaOmnivorous Leafroller Moth
- Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
- Callophrys henriciHenry's Elfin
- Cameraria hamadryadellaSolitary Oak Leafminer Moth
- Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
Show all 34
- Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
- Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
- Cyclophora myrtariaWaxmyrtle Wave
- Cyclophora pendulinariaSweetfern Geometer
- Darapsa choerilusAzalea Sphinx
- Datana drexeliiDrexel's Datana
- Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
- Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
- Limenitis archippusViceroy
- Lithacodes fasciolaYellow-Shouldered Slug
- Megalopyge crispataBlack-Waved Flannel Moth, Crinkled Flannel Moth
- Melanomma auricinctariaGold-Lined Melanomma
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
- Paonias astylusHuckleberry Sphinx
- Prionapteryx nebuliferaClouded Veneer Moth
- Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
- Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
- Strepsicrates smithianaBayberry Leaftier
- Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Xestia dilucidaDull Reddish Dart, Reddish Heath Dart
- Zomaria interruptolineanaBroken-Lined Zomaria
- Tallula atrifascialis
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Gaylussacia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
3Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Gaylussacia
- Andrena bradleyi
- Andrena carolina
- Colletes validus
11BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Gaylussacia
- Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush
- Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
- Loxia leucopteraWhite-winged Crossbill
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Show all 11
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Pink or red
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- July
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Height · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “2–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Growing cautions
- Suckers and forms colonies. Often forms thickets. NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications