No

by Carolyn Teasley

Created on: June 06, 2011   Last Updated: June 07, 2011

After doing much research, the answer is no.  Blueberries are similar to huckleberries.  Both plants belong in the same Vaccinium species, but have different plants and different berries.  Blueberry bushes can be used for picking the berries to eat natural or use in recipes.  The blueberry bush can help decorate your landscape colorfully with the different shades of berries.  There are many varieties of blueberries in shades and flavours to choose from.  Blueberries are grown mostly on the eastern areas of the United States.  Maine growers produce the largest blueberry crops. (www.raintreenursery. com)

The blueberry bushes come in two types of plants, lowbush and highbush.  The lowbush grow low to the ground, usually less than one foot.  The highbush plant can grow as tall as ten feet.  The blueberry bushes grow bell shaped flowers, with a color range of white, pink or red.  These plants also grow best in sunlight. (D.Jones, www.eHow.com)  

Huckleberries tend to grow more out in the wild.  The wild huckleberries grow best in the Pacific northwest of the United States.  They too can be used for colorful landscaping as well as being edible. (www.raintreenursery. com)  There are many different varieties of huckleberries.  Here are a few:

*  Bear Huckleberries  (G. ursina) are plants found mostly in the southeast, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.  They are seasonal and form in large groups. (www.davesgarden.com)

*  Black huckleberries (Gaylussacia baccata) are plants, that grows one to three feet high.  They are thought to be the most prevalent species found in the United States covering both the eastern half of the United States as well as parts of Canada.  This variety spreads out in large fanned out groups.  The right soil conditions for it to thrive well in are rocky, sandy soil found in woods and forests.

*  Box huckleberries (Gaylussacia brachycera) is a dwarf size plant that also grow in large groups found on the hilly and mountainous areas of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. (D.Jones, www.eHow.com)

People tend to be confused as to which berry is which.  This confusion goes back as far as the 1600s when the first identification of a native blueberry was made by the American colonists. (www.gardenguides.com )

According to horticulturists, one sure way to define which is which is by viewing the seeds inside the berries.  Blueberries have soft tiny seeds, while huckleberries have hard seeds.  The shape of the berries can also help identify the differences.  Blueberries have a crown shape at one end, while huckleberries do not and are smooth all around the berry. (www.eHow.com)

In conclusion, the blueberry and huckleberry fruits are much loved and used by people all over the United States. 

References:

 http://www.davesgarden.c om/guides/terms/go/1 9.html

http://www.gardengui des.com/101196-huckl eberries-vs-blueberr ies.html   

http://www.raintreen ursery.com/how_to/BL UE.html

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