How to Identify Huckleberry Seeds and Leaves

Huckleberry bushes (Vaccinium parvifolium) thrive on disturbance. You find prime crops of this wild berry after forest fires or clear-cutting followed by burning. Birds and humans delight in the sweet berries, and bears consume vast amounts. A bear must eat about 70,000 berries a day to gain weight, according to Michael Keefer of Keefer Ecological Services. The shrub is in the same family and genus as the blueberry and has the same round leaves and fine stems.

Instructions

- 1
  Search for huckleberry plants in clear-cut or burned-out areas in the woods. Generally between 2 to 6 feet tall and upright, shrubby huckleberry bushes grow most prolifically in mountainous areas of the western part of the United States.
- 2
  Look at the leaf and how it is positioned on the stem. Huckleberries of all varieties have alternate leaves, which means that no two are side by side on a branch. You will find a leaf on one side of the branch and the next leaf on the stem will be on the other side.
- 3
  Examine the leaf blade extension that connects the leaf to the stem to see if the leaf is simple. All huckleberry leaves are simple, not compound; only one leaf blade grows from a single spot on the leaf stalk extension. Plants with compound leaves have multiple leaf blade units that grow from the attachment point.
- 4
  Inspect the leaf color and stem size of the plant. Huckleberries generally have rich green leaves and their stems are slender, not thick or woody. The shape and size of huckleberry leaves depend upon the species.
- 5
  Return to the huckleberry bush during summer berry season. Most huckleberries ripen between late June and September. Look for berries that resemble blueberries -- round and the size of a pea -- and are orange, red, blue or black. The color varies among huckleberry species.

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