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norman
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Joined: 28 Jun 2007
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norman
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PostSat Sep 18, 2021 10:43 am 
What is the difference between a Blueberry and a Huckleberry? Note this picture from Chain Lakes area at Baker. There is a clear diff between the two in appearance and taste. Everyone has an opinion, but wondering if anyone really knows? Thanks in advance for being berry nice... : dizzy.gif withstupid.gif hihi.gif doof.gif

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Ski
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PostSat Sep 18, 2021 11:01 am 
pictures HERE (* I am by no means an expert on identifying the blue huckleberries found at higher elevations. *)

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Route Loser
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PostSat Sep 18, 2021 6:06 pm 
Norman, as with many common names for groups of organisms, these terms have different meanings to different users. Many will call plants bearing blue berries "blueberries" and other colors "huckleberries" because we're not barbarians. I've never met anyone who uses "bilberry," but they apparently exist. Ski is putting you on the right track. You'll probably get the most out of learning the individual Vaccinium species, whether by folk name or taxonomic pidgin. There's a decent guide here that even attempts to sort out common usage. The author perhaps overstates the importance of plant height, though that is helpful to an extent. And of course the Burke. If you can reliably differentiate deliciosum from cespitosum from alaskaense and naturally occurring hybrids of the three, you'll be more expert than most. Membranaceum, on the right in your photo, you should be able to get familiar with pretty quickly.

ejain
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Zloi
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PostSat Sep 18, 2021 6:59 pm 
I too have been puzzled for years about the "proper" identification of the various kinds of berries one comes across in the Pac NW this time of year, but since I don't aspire to become an "expert" at IDing the different kinds, I just collect and eat them and leave it at that. To me your picture is a perfect illustration of what I, for myself, call a "blueberry" vs a "huckleberry." The former are distinctly blue and the latter have a dark purplish color and are fatter. Wild blueberries are more diminutive than the cultivated sort but tastier. They grow on small plants, close to the ground, which don't really amount to a shrub and apparently need unobstructed sun because I don't find them under a forest canopy. Huckleberry bushes are shrubbier, ie. fuller, taller, leafier and, unlike blueberries, usually do grow in the midst of some shade. I've never consulted any book or guide on the subject--these are just my observations from hiking. The mention of bilberries caught my attention because I've seen another kind of berry plant, much less often, which is distinctly bigger than the blueberry plant but with similar berries, maybe slightly larger. Maybe they aren't bilberries but they are definitely different from blueberry plants. Those often have reddish leaves when the berries are ripe, but the leaves of these others are just ordinary green. The berries taste very similar to blueberries. Another interesting attribute of blueberries: they can peak at fairly widespread times. Not sure how much this is weather dependent of a given summer or if it's inherent in the plants themselves. In some areas, for example, by mid-August the berries have already come and gone. September is often the best month for collecting, though last year at one spot on a trail in the Goat Rocks area I found some peak blueberries near the end of October, the latest I've ever seen them, although elsewhere along the same trail the plants had no berries (which seems to imply specific location--elevation, perhaps soil, genetics?--more than weather determines when they ripen).

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