Why did Mark Twain name his character Huckleberry Finn?
As [Henry David] Thoreau and others tell us, [the huckleberry] does not submit to cultivation and tastes best when picked wild. Twain's Huckleberry, too, resisted domestication.
–James L. Colwell
Maybe Huckleberries do taste best in the wild. But not everyone has time to hit the woods in preparation for pancakes.
Next best: plant your own Gaylussacia baccata. The berries will still be tasty! Think of it as a twist on the Lowbush Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium.
Size: They both rarely top 3 feet and both thrive in drier soils.
Edible fruit: Blueberries are dusty blue while the slightly smaller Huckleberries are more of a purplish-black.
Both are sweet and tasty but Huckleberries crunch–get this: 10 seeds per drupe! They're both good raw by the handful or cooked into muffins, jams, syrups and other delectables.
Exotic: Aside from flavoring in some yogurts, Huckleberries, unlike blueberries, rarely make their way into grocery stores.
Foliage: Both have brilliant red fall foliage. Huckleberry, however, also has pinkish-red spring flowers, compared with Blueberry’s whitish ones.
Huckleberry’s flowers are self-fertile, but bees still pollinate them. Henry’s Elfin uses it as a larval host, and it is believed to be a nectar source for the endangered Karner blue.
Huckleberries like to clump, and while they tolerate some shade they grow shorter and more compact in full sun.
Fun fact: Anyone remember Tombstone, released Christmas Day, 1993?
Among other gems, Doc Holiday twice taunts, “I’m your Huckleberry” to bad-guy Johnny Ringo.
The line apparently comes from Middle Ages lore about a knight rescuing a damsel and receiving a garland made of huckleberries.
The garland, carried into battle, is like a flag waving: “I’m the man for the job!” – a phrase eventually jargoned into “I’m your huckleberry.”
About the author
Jennifer Anderson owns Tree Talk Natives, a native tree and plant nursery in Rochester, Mass. A former news reporter, she loves to talk native plants. Jennifer also gives presentations on native plants and can be reached at jennifer@treetalknatives.com.
Sources:
Anzelone, M. Blueberry and Huckleberry Shrubs. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Oct. 1, 2010.
Black Huckleberry. iNaturalist
Black Huckleberry. Jefferson (Ohio) Soil and Water Conservation District
Colwell, J.L. Huckleberries and Humans: On the Naming of Huckleberry Finn. Abstract. Cambridge University Press. Dec. 1, 2020
Gaylussacia baccata. Fire Effects Information System. USDA
Gaylussacia baccata. Jersey Friendly Yards
Gaylussacia baccata. Plants for a Future
Pesaturo, J. Black Huckleberries, Gaylussacia baccata, One Acre Farm. July 31, 2013.
Thoreau, H. The Walden Woods Project
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