By David Patriquin
Ripe Huckleberries on barrens by East Pine Island Pond Sep 7, 2026
Huckleberry (Gaylusaccua baccata)* on the barrens by East Pine Island pond yesterday were ready for pickin’.
*There are two Gaylussacia species in NS, G. dumosa, common name “Bog Huckleberry” and G. baccata, common name “Huckleberry” or “Black Huckleberry”.
Huckleberries are as sweet as a berry can be, I told my walking mate. He agreed but a few minutes later spat a mouthful out and cursed their sourness.
“Those were not Huckleberries” I said. “There’s no such thing as a sour huckleberry”.
Sure enough I checked the spot out and there was a single shoot of Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) amongst the Huckleberry bushes. There were no berries on it – he had picked them, but the leaves are distinctive, at least they are when you look at them close-up. Chokeberries have finely toothed margins versus the smooth margins of Huckleberry leaves.
Huckleberry (left and right) and Black Chokeberry (centre) Sep 7, 2026 Click on image for a larger version and to view differences in leaf margins between the two species.
Individual Black Chokeberry berries are not easily distinguishable those of Black Huckleberry. However I would say there is about a 90% chance that if you see a big cluster of berries in a Huckleberry stand, they will be those of Black Chokeberry; Huckleberry rarely produces dense clusters of berries.
Also common on these barrens (or more specifically in the bushlands on the barrens) and mixed with Huckleberries were wild raisin (aka Witherod, Viburnum nudum).
Wild Raisin Sep 7, 2026. The purple berries are ripe and edible,
The leaves and the berries of Wild Raisin are readily distinguishable from those of Huckleberries. When purple Wild Raisin berries dry out a bit, they look like raisins. Wild raisin berries are edible but are tasty only for about a week after they first turn purple.
The purple berries I sampled yesterday were not shrivelled up at all and were not as as sweet as I am used to; I am guessing they need some sun to sweeten them up and dry weather to concentrate the sugars.
Mountain Holly and Black Huckleberry Sep 7, 2026
Also occurring on these barrens, sometimes mixed with Huckleberry, was Mountain Holly (Ilex mucronata). It has bright pink to red berries, easily distinguished from those of huckleberry. Mountain Holly berries are not good eating and may be toxic to humans.
“Everybody” , it seems, picks Blueberries (Vccinium spp) which peak in early August on the barrens but few pick Huckleberries, perhaps because they are not as distinctive as are Blueberries. And they take more work to get a handful. But there really are enough Huckleberries for everybody. Huckleberries are the most common shrub on the barrens; they are the plants that turn fire engine red in October giving us a final spectacular flash of colour across the barrens landscape before the snow falls.
So if you haven’t yet sampled their sweetness… now is the time!
The barrens by the Governor’s Brook residential area on Oct 17, 2016. Huckleberries offer a final spectacular flash of colour across the barrens landscape before the snow falls. Read more: Osprey Trail: pine barrens & whalebacks