How To Identify Huckleberries
What A Huckleberry Bush Looks Like
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Today were going to take a look at how to identify huckleberries and show you what a huckleberry bush looks like. My strongest recommendation is that if you’re not comfortable with knowing how to identify huckleberries you need to bring photos with you to the woods or bring a video. For the best and easiest ways to identify huckleberries, watch my video below. The best way to identify huckleberries and a huckleberry bush is to just look at them and memorize.
Also, real quick, the best way to camp when your picking huckleberries is right in the back of your truck. Check out my ultimate guide to truck bed camping, click here!
How To Identify Huckleberries
If you’re not into checking out videos, take a look at the photo below. I will show you a close up of a few different kinds of huckleberries and their bushes with the leaves. This should help you identify huckleberries and learn what a huckleberry bush looks like.
The photo above shows what the top of a huckleberry looks like. You can see it kind of has a weird shape and may have a stem poking out the top. Often that stem has fallen off. There aren’t many berries that have that really odd shape in the top of them, making huckleberries really easy to identify.
I provided another example above. Lets take a look at what they might look like on the bush from a distance. This might help you identify huckleberries while you are walking around.
What A Huckleberry Bush Looks Like
That’s a great close up of what a huckleberry bush looks like. Take a look below to see a more zoomed out look. Keep in mind, you will see red huckleberries, blue huckleberries, purples huckleberries and even some almost black huckleberries. And every shade of those colors in between. So if the color isn’t the exact colors you see here, don’t assume it’s not a huckleberry. Make sure and inspect the berry before assuming it’s not a huckleberry.
Lets take a closer look at a huckleberry leaf, as this will help you make a 100% identification of huckleberries before harvesting. Check out the photo below of a huckleberry leaf.
One thing to remember when identifying a huckleberry bush is the leaves are typically really bland. Nothing too exciting about a huckleberry leaf. They don’t have very deep ridges and are small and almost football shaped.
Also, if you want to see the difference between huckleberries and blueberries, you will want to check out the write up below. I highlight all the differences between a huckleberry and blueberry!
Huckleberry Vs. Blueberry: Difference Between Huckleberries and Blueberries.
Check out the video below to check out one of the best huckleberry patches we have every come across!
I wanted to highlight a few types of common berries you might run into that are not huckleberries.
First one is a sarvis berry. These are typically large than huckleberries and grow on bigger tree sized bushes. The easiest way to identify a sarvis berry verses a huckleberry is the top. The sarvis berry opens up where the huckleberry has the shape on top that we looked at earlier.
Oregon grapes are the next berry you might see. They grow in bigger bunches than huckleberries and are much smaller. They are also a very light blue color, I have never seen a huckleberry quite this color. You can see them below.
The next 3 berries are important to be identified as they are poisonous and toxic. Please recognize these berries as they don’t really look like huckleberries but can be found in the same areas.
Holly Berries, they can be easily identified by their very unique shaped leaves. They are more dramatic and beautiful. Make sure you can recognize these as they are toxic.
Bittersweet Nightshade. These berries have a similar size and shape to huckleberries. They grow in bigger bunches than huckleberries. You can see from the photo below that they are quite a bit different looking than huckleberries. Make sure you recognize them, they are also toxic.
The last berry I want you to look out for is the Red Baneberry. These are also toxic but don’t look a lot like huckleberries. The main thing to look for is the black spot on the bottom, huckleberries do not have this. If they have a black spot on the bottom, don’t eat them, they are toxic. Fun fact! The juice from these berries were used by Native Americans to coat arrow heads to make them more fatal.
I hope this article helped you learn how to identify huckleberries and see what a huckleberry bush looks like. Huckleberries are truly one of the jewels of the pacific northwest. They can be hard to find, but if you do find them, keep it secret. A good huckleberry picking spot is special and will get overrun if too many people know.
Now, jump in your pickup find a road leading to the mountains and go find yourself the best huckleberry patch there ever was!
How To Identify Huckleberries – What A Huckleberry Bush Looks Like
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