Vaccinium Species, Farkleberry, Sparkleberry, Tree-Huckleberry

On Dec 18, 2012, Texaspatriot wrote:

When i moved to Kountze i had never seen a huckleberry tree before. they were growing all along a creek in my backyard. i showed them to a friend of mine and he told me what they were and how good they were. I ended up making jelly out of them and more than one person has said it was better jelly than may haw. i have since found a larger species on my property that the berries don't ripen until fall but they are tart. Also great with blue bell vanilla ice cream.

On Jan 6, 2011, Fires_in_motion from Vacherie, LA (Zone 9a) wrote:

This tree is terrific in many ways, to the point where I'm fairly confident in calling it the best li'l tree in North America. It's basically a big blueberry shrub with small black berries instead of fleshy blue ones. The fall foliage is a dazzling crimson, as it is on blueberry bushes, though the fall leaves don't cling as tenaciously as do fall blueberry leaves. The tree sends out runners several feet (to yards) from the parent tree; I am currently trying to pot one up, but am not too optimistic. I also collected many seeds from the huge 25' (my estimate) one at Northlake Nature Center in Mandeville, LA. Apparently this species likes sandier, drier soil than what we have here on the west (south) bank of the Mississippi River, but I'm going to try to grow these little bad boys anyway... read more. I've never seen one for sale at a nursery or plant show around here, perhaps due to their slow growth rate and lack of name recognition, hence why I'm taking the seed route. If I have to wait 10+ years to have a mature one to put in my yard, then so be it. The mature ones look a lot like 'Natchez' Crape Myrtles to me, but no self-respecting plant geek would ever plant a C.M.

Yes, the fruits are edible. They remind me a bit of Mission figs (by far the best fig variety) in terms of taste and texture, or perhaps of black mulberries.

On Dec 6, 2006, JMBreland from Jacksonville, FL (Zone 9a) wrote:

I delighted upon discovering wild specimens in the forested ravine behind our house here in Mobile, AL. I'm selectively clearing the area and leaving a few good-sized specimens to grace my future woodland garden. It's something special. *smile*

On Jun 12, 2004, patp from Summerville, SC (Zone 8a) wrote:

Sparkleberry is one of the most beautiful native evergreen bushes growing in this area (Zone 8a.) It produces lovely small bell-shaped flowers in early spring that quickly develop into small green berries (oops, I should have carried the camera with me on that walk!). Its growth pattern reminds me of a Japanese flower arrangement - twisted, asymmetrical, graceful. I've seen primitive chairs made of its wood sold in a local gift shop. It's primarily an understory grower that tolerates drought, high temperates, some direct sunlight, is ignored by deer, and is a joy to see.

On Jul 21, 2003, Terry from Murfreesboro, TN (Zone 7a) wrote:

A slow-growing, drought tolerant native that deserves to be grown more widely. The bitter fruit are not as desirable as some other fruits of this family, but the pretty exfoliating bark, tolerance to dry and somewhat-alkaline soil makes it a great plant for the landscape, especially if you have a woodland area.