It was better than five decades ago when my wife and I stopped at a café in Kalispell, Montana to get a bite to eat. After finishing our meal, I asked if they had any blueberry pie in their pie selections. The waitress lifted her eyebrows, and in a sharp, booming reply informed me that they only served huckleberry pie and not blueberry pie in Montana. I asked what the difference was, and was told that I would find out with my first bite. Well, the first bite really did not really answer that question, even though the pie, admittedly, was very tasty. There are some berry pickers who maintain that blueberries have a sweet floral, woody and musky flavor, with a touch of acidity. Huckleberries, in contrast, have a sharp, tangy, tart-to-subtly-sweet flavor, depending on the location and species of huckleberries picked. In past years I further explored the difference between huckleberries and blueberries with some extensive reading, tasting, and talking to huckleberry vendors in Montana’s Flathead Valley; I discovered the native huckleberry icon was a most interesting topic to explore.

The name “huckleberry” is a North American variation of the English dialectal names “hurtleberry” or “whortleberry.” The name is also tacked on to numerous other American expressions. Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn character has the following meanings: someone who is just right for a given job, or rates as a significant or nice person. The saying “My huckleberry friend” refers to a friend thought to be someone with whom you have an idyllic sort of friendship, and one that is carefree and innocent. In the movie Tombstone actor Val Kilmer’s character Doc Holiday, said “I’m your Huck,” meaning “I’m the right person for the job.”

In botanical terms, the huckleberry is a member of the Ericaceae, or Heath family; seven species are found in western Montana, with the Globe huckleberry, Vaccinium globulare, being the most common of the seven. Smaller than a blueberry, and sweeter than a cranberry, many believe that huckleberries are the best of both worlds.

A frequent question asked by many berry eaters centers on what the difference is between huckleberries and blueberries. Differences between the two include the following:
(1) Huckleberry fruits contain hard seeds which can taste bitter when eaten. Blueberry fruits have numerous tiny, softer seeds.
(2) Growth pattern: Blueberry bushes bear fruit in clusters at the plant level, but huckleberry bushes grow separate single berries. As a result, the overall yield from a blueberry bush is likely to be greater than a huckleberry bush of the same size.
(3) Interior berry color: Blueberries are pale green or white on the inside. Huckleberries, in contrast, are either blue or purple when split open.
(4) Flowering coloration: When the huckleberry flowers, its flowers are red. Blueberry flowers have bright white, pink, or light green.

Huckleberries require a high-altitude environment: acidic, well-drained, damp soils; cold winters with a total of 1,000 chill hours between 32 and 45-degrees Fahrenheit; partially shaded coniferous forests, and open timbered areas previously burned. Huckleberries are found in numerous worldwide geographic regions but do exceptionally well in the Pacific Northwest, and Rocky Mountain regions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Native, wild-growing blueberries are not found in Montana even though they are very hardy and seem like they would be well suited for the Treasure State. But Montana’s climate, elevation differences, and more alkaline soils are limiting factors for large scale cultivation of blueberries. Like all other Vaccinium species, Montana’s Globe huckleberry, Vaccinium globulare, is rhizomatous, with rhizomes being the primary method of reproduction. These plants depend on mycorrhizae (root hairs) to help pull nutrients out of the acidic, and often poor nutrient soils in which they grow.

   
Health Benefits And Nutrient Value Of Huckleberries – A Bonified Super Food
   
Huckleberries are packed with antioxidants, more so than blueberries, can contribute to healthy cognitive, nerve and muscular functions, and may reduce the risk for iron-deficient anemia. They are an excellent source of vitamins C and A, and potassium. They are great for promoting skin and eye health, and may aid in staving off macular degeneration and damage to the eyes that can lead to vision loss. Huckleberries also contain anthocyanins which can help fight inflammation, boost immunity and slow cancer cell growth; help lower blood pressure and cholesterol; reduce inflammation, support brain function, and maintain cognitive function in seniors. And as another bonus for seniors, they can keep skin looking more youthful with age.  Huckleberry blossoms, leaves, and shoots, when boiled to make tea, may help with rheumatisms. 

A nutrient analysis of 100 grams of huckleberries contains: 8.7 grams of carbohydrates, 0.4 grams of protein, 0.1 grams of fat, 2.8 milligrams of vitamin C, 79 international units of vitamin A, and 0.3 milligrams of iron. Huckleberries play an essential role as a super food icon, all of which can boost the immune system and foster a healthy gut microbiome.

Native Americans have used huckleberries as a traditional medicine for centuries. They also served as a major food group, and enhanced their food source by burning annual picking grounds as huckleberries thrive in low intensity burn areas with increased sunlight and openings in thick forest cover.

In the Lewis and Clark journals, we have the first North American documentation of huckleberries, a plant new to science, which occurred when the expedition contacted the Shoshone Indians in Idaho on their western 1805 trek. In Lewis’s diary, he tells private McNeil to mix equal parts of berries and flour to make a pudding which is well received by the expedition members and the Shoshone chief Cameahwait.

Economic Value Of Huckleberries 

Montana’s Big Sky Country, the home of cowboys and Native Americans, Charlie Russell, grizzly bears, fly fishermen, bison, Glacier National Park, and outstanding panoramic vistas has another boasting claim to make—the Montana huckleberry, an icon that became our state fruit in May 2023.

Montana’s specialty crops, such as honey and Flathead sweet cherries, provide an additional component to Montana’s agricultural economy. Added to these is Montana’s wild huckleberry. This Montana specialty fruit carries a mysterious lure that attracts people from all geographic quarters. The huge scale of different products selling under the wild huckleberry’s name is incredible: honey, jam, jelly, syrup, pie filling, barbecue sauce, pancake mix, truffles, candy bars, taffy, jellybeans, popcorn, fudge, lotions, soap, lip balm, bath salts, ice cream, milkshakes, yogurt, lemonade, tea, and more. The huckleberry industry (commercial and private) ranks as a significant economy booster, with northwestern states’ annual sales in the millions of dollars in geographic regions where huckleberries grow. The selling price of huckleberries varies considerably with local weather conditions. During an ideal weather-cooperating summer, a gallon of huckleberries might sell for $40 to 50 dollars, but in a poor production year (due to early frosts or hot, dry weather), that price can jump to $70 on Facebook or Craigslist. There’s no way getting around paying top dollar when adverse weather conditions occur.

Huckleberries And Climate Change
   
Climate change is projected to figure significantly in impacting huckleberry growth, primarily by reducing suitable habitat areas, causing earlier flowering and fruiting times, and potentially decreasing overall berry production due to increased temperatures and altered precipitation patterns (especially at lower elevations, leading to a potential shift in huckleberry populations toward higher elevations). This could also disrupt pollination timing and increase vulnerability to intense fire that reduces overstory shade and increases plant competition. There still is much to learn about climate change and its impact on bee pollinators. Extreme high intensity fires now occurring in the northwest region of Montana and neighboring states pose a red flag warning to future huckleberry productivity. A given plant species’ withdrawal from previously occupied range due to climate change, seen as a time-lapse motion picture (ie., the dynamic view of a species’ range) would, through the years, appear somewhat like an amoeba extending and retracting its lobes as it slowly crawls to different locations. Climate, more than any other physical factor or disruption, determines whether a given species will live in a specific geographic area.

Ecological Aspects Of Huckleberries

In addition to the berries’ economic value, the huckleberry is known to be of ecological importance in Montana. Huckleberry plants play an important role in forest succession, and serve as a key understory species contributing to a forest’s overall diversity and long-term productivity. Huckleberry shrubs can be classified as an important component of a climax forest. A classic example of its remarkable recovery status in natural disaster events was documented in the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helen. The huckleberry was one of the first plants to return to the slopes after the eruption. Research studies have shown that undisturbed climax forests contain the least productive huckleberry patches, while the most productive huckleberry areas were in forested areas that were disturbed by fire at earlier dates. Greater huckleberry fruit production is associated with low intensity burned sites before the reestablishment of a coniferous tree overstory. Once the overstory is established huckleberry shrubs do not die out, but tend to grow taller and flower less, thereby decreasing berry production.

Research by biologists in Glacier National Park has shown that huckleberries make up ten percent or more of grizzly bear diets used for storing fat reserves for hibernation. In addition to bears, deer, elk, birds, and small mammals also feed on berries and other parts of the shrub.

One Final Note

Huckleberries are highly desired by many Montana residents, and they are understandably reluctant to share the location of their favorite picking grounds. Huckleberries are the ultimate eco-healthy fruit; it grows wild in pristine mountainous locations, free of chemicals and fertilizers, and it’s a fruit that’s extremely tasty. Picking hucks in bear country also provides a mini adventure to a day’s picking. Huckleberries can be classified as rebels in the sense that about every other fruit and vegetable can be cultivated and domesticated, but huckleberries prefer to maintain their wild-growing status. That’s what makes them extra special.