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

Keystone

Native to West 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?

Gaylussacia brachycera — foliage photograph — (c) Emily Franzen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

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

JFMAMJJASOND

Not yet recorded · Spread

Recorded in 4 West Virginia counties.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.

American Coot
Fulica americana
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Field Sparrow
Spizella pusilla
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Fish Crow
Corvus ossifragus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Horned Lark
Eremophila alpestris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Killdeer
Charadrius vociferus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lark Sparrow
Chondestes grammacus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Lincoln's Sparrow
Melospiza lincolnii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rock Pigeon
Columba livia
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Rough-legged Hawk
Buteo lagopus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Savannah Sparrow
Passerculus sandwichensis
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Short-eared Owl
Asio flammeus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Sora
Porzana carolina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Willow Flycatcher
Empidonax traillii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wilson's Snipe
Gallinago delicata
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Birds. 1 shared habitat

Widespread birds also seen here (38)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV

Genus host records with ranges including WV · Gaylussacia

Acleris curvalanaBlueberry Leaftier Moth
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 henriciHenry's Elfin
Cameraria hamadryadellaSolitary Oak Leafminer Moth
Choristoneura obsoletanaObsolete Leafroller

Show all 36

Chrysanympha formosaFormosa Looper Moth, Beautiful Looper
Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
Crocigrapha normaniNorman's Quaker
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
Melanomma auricinctariaGold-Lined Melanomma
Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
Olethreutes appendiceumServiceberry Leafroller
Olethreutes permundanaRaspberry Leafroller
Paonias astylusHuckleberry Sphinx
Polia nimbosaStormy Arches
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

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

8BirdsRecorded eating Gaylussacia in West Virginia

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.