Dwarf Huckleberry
Gaylussacia dumosa
Found in longleaf pine sandhills, pine flatwoods, other dry to moist, acidic forests and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
82
Keystone
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 1–2 feet
- Spread
- 1–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 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
- Late spring
- Fruiting season
- June to October
Recorded in 31 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 3
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 123 animals.
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-billed CuckooCoccyzus americanus
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
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
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
1AntsRecorded seed interactions
- Pogonomyrmex badius
Pogonomyrmex badius: Seed predation.
No records yet · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–10a
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Cream, pink or white
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Spreads by rhizomes
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- June
- Fruit ends
- October
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Late spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Cream, pink or white” · 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 · “June” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Spreads by rhizomes” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 5a–10a” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1–2 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; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Spreads by rhizomes. USDA PLANTS lists its growth form as rhizomatous. USDA PLANTS
For planning only; these do not change the score or Fit.
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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