The last time Woodjin and I were together we were discussing the technical differences between lowbush blueberry and black huckleberry. In my experience, black huckleberry is more prevalant in the pines.
Anyway, it occured to me that there is a very easy way to tell what you have in front of you without berries. Reach down and grab a few leaves in-between your fingers. If it's Huckleberry, they'll feel tacky. Pull off the leaves. When you open your fingers, some will remain on your fingers instead of falling off. This is because Huckeberry is very resinous. Look at the leaves with a lens and you'll see yellow resin dots.
With blueberry leaves, there is no resin. They feel soft and dry, and when you open your fingers after picking a few, they all drop off.
Also, when they are young and prevalant together, the blueberry leaves are a paler green, where the huckleberry is a more intense and vibrant green. Its easy to pick out which is which.
Anyway, it occured to me that there is a very easy way to tell what you have in front of you without berries. Reach down and grab a few leaves in-between your fingers. If it's Huckleberry, they'll feel tacky. Pull off the leaves. When you open your fingers, some will remain on your fingers instead of falling off. This is because Huckeberry is very resinous. Look at the leaves with a lens and you'll see yellow resin dots.
With blueberry leaves, there is no resin. They feel soft and dry, and when you open your fingers after picking a few, they all drop off.
Also, when they are young and prevalant together, the blueberry leaves are a paler green, where the huckleberry is a more intense and vibrant green. Its easy to pick out which is which.
