huckleberry

(hŭk'əl-bĕr'ē)

1. Any of various New World shrubs of the genus Gaylussacia, related to the blueberries and bearing edible fruit.
2. The glossy, blackish, many-seeded berry of these plants.

[Probably alteration of hurtleberry, whortleberry. See whortleberry.]

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For more information on huckleberry, visit Britannica.com.

Wild North American berry, the fruit of Gaylussacia baccata and other species (named after the French chemist Gay-Lussac, 1778-1850). Similar to blueberry but has larger seeds; used in tarts, pies, and preserves.

A wild, blue-black berry that closely resembles (and is often mistaken for) the blueberry. The huckleberry, however, has 10 small, hard seeds in the center, whereas the blueberry has many seeds, so tiny and soft that they're barely noticeable. Additionally, the huckleberry has a thicker skin and a flavor that is slightly less sweet and more astringent. Unless you pick them yourself, or have a friend who does, it's unlikely that you'll find fresh huckleberries because they're not cultivated. They're in season from June through August and are good eaten plain or in baked goods such as muffins or pies.

A 1670 description of Long Island said, "The Fruits natural to the Island, are Mulberries, Posimons, Grapes great and small, Huckelberries." The huckleberry, named after the similar English hurtleberry, is small and dark, something like a blueberry. The resemblance is such that in some places huckleberry is used as the name for the blueberry.

Both in agriculture and in the American vocabulary, the huckleberry has been humble. In the 1800s, huckleberry meant "a small thing," as in an 1844 account from West Virginia: "Why, this thing laying here ain't a circumstance--hardly a huckleberry to him." A small bet was "a huckleberry to a persimmon." By virtue of its lowly status, however, huckleberry was chosen for the title role in one of the most renowned of American novels, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), starring a character introduced in a supporting role in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). "No, one doesn't name his characters haphazard," Twain told an interviewer in 1895. "Finn was the real name of the other boy, but I tacked on the 'Huckleberry.' You see, there was something about the name 'Finn' that suited, and 'Huck Finn' was all that was needed to somehow describe another kind of a boy than 'Tom Sawyer,' a boy of lower extraction or degree."

• Shrubs
• berry
• Blue

For other uses, see Huckleberry (disambiguation).

Bog Huckleberry at Polly's Cove, Nova Scotia

Wild huckleberry in the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. The presence of floral remnants on the apex of the fruit indicates that this is an epigynous berry.

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

Contents 1 Nomenclature 1.1 Gaylussacia 1.2 Vaccinium 1.3 Use in slang 2 References

Nomenclature

While various Gaylussacia species, such as Vaccinium parvifolium, the Red Huckleberry, are always called huckleberries, other Vaccinium species may be called blueberries or huckleberries depending upon local custom, as in parts of Appalachia.

The fruit of the various species of plant only called huckleberries is generally edible and tasty. The berries are small and round, 5-10 mm in diameter and look like blueberries. Berries range in color according to species from bright red, through dark purple, and into the blues. In taste the berries range from tart to sweet, with a flavor similar to that of a blueberry, especially in blue- and purple-colored varieties. However, many kinds of huckleberries have a noticeable, distinct taste different from blueberries, and some have noticeably larger seeds. Huckleberries are enjoyed by many animals, including bears, birds, and humans.

Gaylussacia

Several species of huckleberries in the genus Gaylussacia are common in eastern North America, especially G. baccata.

Vaccinium

In coastal Central California and Northern California of the United States, the red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) is found in the Coast Redwood plant community. A prostrate form occurs also. In the Pacific Northwest of North America, the huckleberry plant grows in many places. It can be found in mid-alpine regions, often on the lower slopes of mountains. The plant grows best in damp, acidic soil. Under optimal conditions, huckleberries bushes can be as high as 1.5 to 2 metres (4.9 to 6.6 ft), and usually ripen in mid-to-late summer, or later at higher elevations. The Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium) is used horticulturally in coastal naturalistic and native plant public landscapes and private gardens.

Use in slang

Huckleberries hold a place in archaic English slang. The tiny size of the berries led to their frequent use as a way of referring to something small, often in an affectionate way. The phrase "a huckleberry over my persimmon" was used to mean "a bit beyond my abilities". "I'm your huckleberry" is a way of saying that one is just the right person for a given job.^[1]

The range of slang meanings of huckleberry in the 19th century was fairly large, also referring to insignificant persons or nice persons.^[2][3]

The 'garden huckleberry' (Solanum melanocerasum) is not considered to be a true huckleberry but is instead a member of the nightshade family.

References

1. ^ World Wide Words
2. ^ Gullible Gulls, Huckleberry, Jumbi, Wooden Nickels, Realtors, and Calling a Spade a Spade (1996), The Word Detective, apparently based on the Dictionary of American Regional English
3. ^ Huckleberry, Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - blåbær

Nederlands (Dutch)
blauwe bosbes

Français (French)
n. - myrtille

Deutsch (German)
n. - Heidelbeere

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (φυτολ.) μύρτιλλος, βατόμουρο

Italiano (Italian)
mirtillo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - espécie de mirtilo (m) (Bot.)

Русский (Russian)
черника

Español (Spanish)
n. - arándano

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - amerikanskt blåbär (av släktet Gaylussacia)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
越橘类

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 越橘類

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 윌귤나무 무리의 관목 (그 열매)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ハックルベリー, コケモモ

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אוכמנית‬

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