Gaylussacia brachycera

Last updated

Box huckleberry
Gaylussacia brachycera wild.jpg
Box huckleberry in fruit
Status TNC G3.svg
Vulnerable  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Gaylussacia
Species:
G. brachycera
Binomial name
Gaylussacia brachycera
Synonyms [2]
  • Vaccinium brachycerumMichx. 1803
  • Vaccinium buxifolium Salisb.
  • Buxella brachycera Small
  • Adnaria brachycera(Torr. & A.Gray) Kuntze
  • Decamerium brachycerum(Michx.) Ashe

Gaylussacia brachycera, commonly known as box huckleberry or box-leaved whortleberry, is a low North American shrub related to the blueberry and the other huckleberries. It is native to the east-central United States (Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee). [3]

Contents

Gaylussacia brachycera is easily distinguished from other members of its genus by its leaves: they resemble those of boxwood (hence its name) and lack the resin glands typical of huckleberries. Like its relatives, it bears white urn-shaped flowers in the early summer, which develop to blue, edible berries in late summer. It is mostly found in Appalachia; many of its stands there were known to natives, who picked and ate the berries, before botanists became aware of them in the 1920s.

A relict species nearly exterminated by the last ice age, box huckleberry is self-sterile, and is found in isolated colonies which reproduce clonally by extending roots. One colony in Pennsylvania was once estimated to be as many as 13,000 years old; more recent estimates have an upper bound of about 8,000 years, which would make it the oldest woody plant east of the Rocky Mountains. Another colony in Pennsylvania, about 1,300 years old, has been protected by the Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area.

Description

A close-up of box huckleberry's flowers. BoxHuckleberry.jpg
A close-up of box huckleberry's flowers.

Box huckleberry is a low shrub, growing 6 to 8 inches (150 to 200 mm) tall. [4] Its leaves resemble those of boxwood (hence its name). [5] The leaves are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and oval-shaped. [6] They are glossy and minutely toothed, [5] turning red in winter. [4] The evergreen leaves, lacking resin glands, are in sharp contrast to other species of Gaylussacia . [7] Box huckleberry flowers in May and June. [6] The flowers are urn-shaped and white, sometimes tinged with pink. Like other huckleberries, the flowers appear on a raceme springing from the leaf axils. [4] Its fruits, which appear in July and August, [6] are blue berries borne on short pedicels. [8] [9]

Taxonomy

Box huckleberry was first collected and described in 1796 near Winchester, Virginia (probably in what is now West Virginia) by the botanist André Michaux. Michaux named it Vaccinium brachycerum in his Flora Boreali-Americana, published in 1803. [10] Matthias Kinn, in about 1800, and Frederick Pursh, in 1805, also obtained specimens in West Virginia. [11] R. A. Salisbury referred to it as V. buxifolium in 1805, and this remained the prevailing name for the next forty years; the common name "box-leaved whortle-berry" was used for the species at the time. [12]

No further specimens were collected until 1845, when Spencer Fullerton Baird, a professor at Dickinson College, [10] discovered a colony near New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania. It was redesignated G. brachycera in 1846 by Asa Gray on the basis of Baird's specimens. [13] (Gaylussacia was not recognized as a genus separate from Vaccinium until 1819. [14] ) The discovery brought about a friendship between Gray and Baird that ultimately resulted in the latter's appointment as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. [15] [11]

John Kunkel Small assigned the species, as Buxella brachycera, to a monospecific genus in 1933. However, this was not widely accepted, and was rejected by other authors on the grounds of both nomenclatural and "phyletic unsoundness". [16] More recently, phylogenetic studies in 2002 suggested that the monophyly of G. brachycera with the remainder of Gaylussacia is "equivocal", and further analysis of Vaccinium might result in G. brachycera being returned to that genus. [17]

Distribution and habitat

About 100 separate stations for box huckleberry have been documented in the scientific literature. [6] By the time of Baird's collection in 1845, the West Virginia stands of the plant had been lost to science, and his Pennsylvania colony was the only one known for some time. Specimens of box huckleberry were subsequently identified in Delaware in 1870, by William M. Canby. [10]

In 1919, Frederick V. Coville called attention to the threatened state of the plant in an article in Science . While investigating the species for horticultural purposes, he only found two herbarium specimens, those of Baird and Canby. [15] (Coville apparently did not locate Kinn's West Virginia specimen, preserved at the Muhlenberg Herbarium. [10] ) Upon examination of the New Bloomfield site in 1918, he discovered the entire colony, except for one patch cut off by cultivation, was connected by roots, and that no seedlings were in evidence anywhere around the margins of the colony. Coville concluded that the plant was self-sterile and reproduced by extending rootstocks. After commercial nurserymen removed a truckload of box huckleberry from the New Bloomfield site in 1918, Coville was particularly anxious to preserve the species, as the New Bloomfield site was the only one then thought extant. (It was protected by the state from 1929, becoming the Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area. [8] ) However, Edgar T. Wherry was able to locate the Delaware colony, thought lost, in 1919, and send specimens for cross-pollination with specimens from the Pennsylvania colony. [15]

This report stimulated considerable interest in the species. Additional colonies were located in Pennsylvania and Delaware, one in Maryland, several in Virginia, three in Tennessee (1920–1930), two in Kentucky (1927–1932), and many in West Virginia (1921). In summarizing these discoveries in 1932, Wherry noted that many of the colonies were already known to local residents, who picked the berries for food, under names such as "juniper-berry", "ground-huckleberry", and "bear-huckleberry". He called for more intensive effort on the part of the scientific community to make use of such local knowledge in determining plant geography. [11] More recently, a colony of box huckleberry was discovered in Durham County, North Carolina, the first report from that state, in 2003. [5] Per the most recent NC Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species, G. brachycera has since been listed as Endangered and given protected status within the state. [18]

Most of the reported stations for box huckleberry fall within the Appalachian Mountains, ranging from central Pennsylvania in the north to eastern Tennessee in the south. However, the specimens located in Maryland and Delaware were found on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, [10] and the single North Carolina station is in the Piedmont. Its scattered distribution suggests that the species once spread more broadly across North America, but was almost eradicated by glacial advances, surviving only where it escaped the ice in protected refugia. [19]

Box huckleberry prefers dry, acidic soils, including duff, and partial shade. [13] Locations on wooded slopes tend to face north; [7] however, the New Bloomfield site faces west. At one of the Delaware sites, a small portion of the colony extended to the wet margin of a marsh, but most was located on dry, sandy soil upslope. [15]

Ecology and human use

Box huckleberry is self-sterile, so single plants cannot reproduce sexually. Instead, they form colonies which spread by vegetative reproduction along rootstocks. [15] A colony of G. brachycera at Losh Run, in Perry County, Pennsylvania was found to be 6,500 feet (2,000 m) in extent when surveyed. If this colony grew clonally from a seed deposited along the Juniata River at the rate of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) per year, it would be about 13,000 years old, the oldest living organism in the United States and second oldest in the world, [20] eclipsed only by Lomatia tasmanica . However, this is believed now to be an overestimate on climatic grounds. At that time, the site was covered by a boreal forest, believed to be too cold for the box huckleberry to survive; the current forest did not begin to appear at the site until about 8,000 years ago. This age would still make it the oldest woody plant in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. [21] Recent studies have attempted to determine whether, in fact, the reproduction of the colony (since heavily damaged by a forest fire in 1963 and road construction in the 1970s) has been entirely clonal. Two genotypes were found in samples taken from the colony, but they are thought to have arisen through somatic mutation rather than sexual reproduction. [13] Unfortunately, the destruction of about 80% of the colony by fire and construction makes it impossible to definitively settle the question. [21]

With the cooperation of the United States Department of Agriculture, efforts are under way to promote G. brachycera as a groundcover for use in landscaping. [22] Box huckleberry is commercially available from at least one source [4] but it is difficult to propagate, making it unprofitable for many nurseries to carry. [19] It is commonly marketed as 'Berried Treasure™' (the trademark symbol is not always present), and while the name gives the impression of being a cultivar, it is simply a clone of the wild colony. [23] Briggs Nursery has developed a treasure chest logo and stylized title to accompany its marketing material for the plant. [24] In New Bloomfield, PA, the box huckleberry has become part of the local New Year's celebrations, as a papier-mâché replica of a huckleberry is dropped, instead of a ball, to mark the new year. [25]

The caterpillar of the moth Dichomeris juncidella has been reported to feed on the leaves. [26] The berries are eaten by wild turkeys and ruffed grouse. [6] They have been harvested for food by humans in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. [11] Rev. Frederick W. Gray, who documented many of the box huckleberry colonies in West Virginia in the 1920s, first took an interest in the plant when served a "juniper" pie, "juniper" being the local name for box huckleberry. [27] However, they are reportedly tasteless. [26] [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Vaccinium</i> Genus of berry-producing shrubs in the heath family

Vaccinium is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whortleberry), lingonberry (cowberry), and huckleberry. Like many other ericaceous plants, they are generally restricted to acidic soils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern coastal forests</span> Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of the United States

The Northeastern coastal forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the northeast and middle Atlantic region of the United States. The ecoregion covers an area of 34,630 sq miles (89,691 km2) encompassing the Piedmont and coastal plain of seven states, extending from coastal southwestern Maine, southeastern New Hampshire, eastern Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, southward through Connecticut, New York State, New Jersey, southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clonal colony</span> Genetically identical, single site plants, fungi, or bacteria

A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals, such as plants, fungi, or bacteria, that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively, not sexually, from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a ramet. In fungi, "individuals" typically refers to the visible fruiting bodies or mushrooms that develop from a common mycelium which, although spread over a large area, is otherwise hidden in the soil. Clonal colonies are common in many plant species. Although many plants reproduce sexually through the production of seed, reproduction occurs by underground stolons or rhizomes in some plants. Above ground, these plants most often appear to be distinct individuals, but underground they remain interconnected and are all clones of the same plant. However, it is not always easy to recognize a clonal colony especially if it spreads underground and is also sexually reproducing.

<i>Gaylussacia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Gaylussacia is a genus of about fifty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to the Americas, where they occur in eastern North America and in South America in the Andes and the mountains of southeastern Brazil. Common English names include huckleberry and "dangleberry".

<i>Vaccinium corymbosum</i> Species of plant

Vaccinium corymbosum, the northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and south as far as Florida and eastern Texas. It is also naturalized in other places: Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the Pacific Northwest of North America, etc. Other common names include blue huckleberry, tall huckleberry, swamp huckleberry, high blueberry, and swamp blueberry.

<i>Vaccinium myrtilloides</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium myrtilloides is a shrub with common names including common blueberry, velvetleaf huckleberry, velvetleaf blueberry, Canadian blueberry, and sourtop blueberry. It is common in much of North America, reported from all 10 Canadian provinces plus Nunavut and Northwest Territories, as well as from the northeastern and Great Lakes states in the United States. It is also known to occur in Montana and Washington.

<i>Vaccinium ovatum</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium ovatum is a North American species of flowering shrub discovered in 1853 and known by the common names evergreen huckleberry, winter huckleberry, cynamoka berry and California huckleberry. Vaccinium ovatum is classified in phylum: Magnoliaphyta, order: Ericales, family: Ericaceae, genus: Vaccinium, and species: ovatum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Vernon Coville</span> American botanist (1867–1937)

Frederick Vernon Coville was an American botanist who participated in the Death Valley Expedition (1890-1891), was honorary curator of the United States National Herbarium (1893-1937), worked at then was Chief botanist of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and was the first director of the United States National Arboretum. He made contribution to economic botany and helped shape American scientific policy of the time on plant and exploration research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blueberry</span> Section of plants

Blueberry is a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plant with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium. Vaccinium also includes cranberries, bilberries, huckleberries and Madeira blueberries. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) and cultivated (highbush)—are all native to North America. The highbush varieties were introduced into Europe during the 1930s.

Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area is a 10-acre (4.0 ha) natural area in Perry County, Pennsylvania, near New Bloomfield, which protects a colony of box huckleberry over 1,000 years old. The smallest Natural Area in Pennsylvania, it is administered as part of Tuscarora State Forest. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in April 1967.

<i>Gaylussacia baccata</i> Berry and plant

Gaylussacia baccata, the black huckleberry, is a common huckleberry found throughout a wide area of eastern North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huckleberry</span> Berry and plant

Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: Vaccinium and Gaylussacia.

<i>Vaccinium membranaceum</i> Species of plant

Vaccinium membranaceum is a species within the group of Vaccinium commonly referred to as huckleberry. This particular species is known by the common names thinleaf huckleberry, tall huckleberry, big huckleberry, mountain huckleberry, square-twig blueberry, and (ambiguously) as "black huckleberry".

<i>Vaccinium scoparium</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium scoparium is a species of huckleberry known by the common names grouse whortleberry, grouseberry, and littleleaf huckleberry.

<i>Gaylussacia dumosa</i> Berry and plant

Gaylussacia dumosa is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names dwarf huckleberry, bush huckleberry, and gopherberry. It is native to eastern North America from Newfoundland to Louisiana and Florida. It occurs along the coastal plain and in the mountains.

<i>Gaylussacia frondosa</i> Berry and plant

Gaylussacia frondosa is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names dangleberry and blue huckleberry. It is native to the eastern United States, where it occurs from New Hampshire to South Carolina.

<i>Vaccinium myrsinites</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium myrsinites is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common name shiny blueberry. It is native to the southeastern United States from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. It may occur as far west as Louisiana.

<i>Vaccinium pallidum</i> Berry and plant

Vaccinium pallidum is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names hillside blueberry, Blue Ridge blueberry, late lowbush blueberry, and early lowbush blueberry. It is native to central Canada (Ontario) and the central and eastern United States plus the Ozarks of Missouri, Arkansas, southeastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma.

Gaylussacia tomentosa, commonly known as the hairy dangleberry or hairytwig huckleberry, is a plant species native to the coastal plains of the southeastern United States.

<i>Gaylussacia ursina</i> Berry and plant

Gaylussacia ursina, the bear huckleberry, is a plant species native to the southern Appalachians.

References

  1. ↑ NatureServe 2020.
  2. ↑ The Plant List, Gaylussacia brachycera (Michx.) Torr. & A.Gray
  3. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  4. 1 2 3 4 TWC 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cook 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Crable 1999.
  7. 1 2 Kadis 2010.
  8. 1 2 Fergus & Rae 2002.
  9. ↑ Flora of North America, Gaylussacia brachycera (Michaux) A.Gray, 1846. Box huckleberry
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Smith & Smith 1971.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Wherry 1934.
  12. ↑ Sims 1806.
  13. 1 2 3 Pooler, Nicholson & Vandegrift 2008.
  14. ↑ Kirkman & Ballington 1990.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Coville 1919.
  16. ↑ Camp 1941.
  17. ↑ Floyd 2002.
  18. ↑ Wichmann, Brenda L. (2021). Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina 2021(Report). Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Natural Heritage Program N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. [Web]
  19. 1 2 Cullina 2002.
  20. ↑ Wherry 1972.
  21. 1 2 Nicholson 2011.
  22. ↑ Pooler, Dix & Griesbach 2003.
  23. ↑ "Gaylussacia brachycera 'Berried Treasure' TM". Far Reaches Farm. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  24. ↑ "Plant Info Sheets". Briggs Nursery. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  25. ↑ Daily Union 1994.
  26. 1 2 Claypole 1883.
  27. ↑ Brooks et al. 1986.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.