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Box Huckleberry

Gaylussacia brachycera

Found in dry, acidic ridgetops and upper slopes, locally forming large clones, in the Coastal Plain in dry sandy soils. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

81
Keystone

Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
Up to about 1.5 feet
Light
Part shade
Soil moisture
Dry
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Bloom
May to June

Not yet recorded · Spread

Recorded in 7 Virginia counties.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 154 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

45CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Gaylussacia

  • Acleris curvalanaBlueberry Leaftier Moth
  • Acleris pulverosana"North American" Hasty Acleris
  • Acrobasis vacciniiCranberry Fruitworm
  • Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Anaplectoides prasinaGreen Arches Dart
  • 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
Show all 45
  • Cameraria hamadryadellaSolitary Oak Leafminer Moth
  • Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller
  • Chrysanympha formosaFormosa Looper Moth, Beautiful Looper
  • 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
  • Nites betulellaBlackdotted Birch Leaftier
  • Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
  • Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
  • Paonias astylusHuckleberry Sphinx
  • Polia nimbosaStormy Arches
  • Prionapteryx nebuliferaClouded Veneer Moth
  • Psectraglaea carnosaCrimson Sallow
  • Rheumaptera hastataSpear-Marked Black Moth, Spear Mark
  • Scopula limboundataLarge Lace-Border
  • Sphinx gordiusApple Sphinx
  • Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
  • Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
  • Strepsicrates smithianaBayberry Leaftier
  • Synchlora aerataWavy-Lined Emerald, Camouflaged Looper
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Xestia dilucidaDull Reddish Dart, Reddish Heath Dart
  • Zomaria interruptolineanaBroken-Lined Zomaria
  • Chaetaglaea rhonda
  • Coleophora gaylussaciella
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
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
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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
Flower color
White or pink
Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankS1
Global rankG3
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources