Photo by Katja Schulz on iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
Huckleberries
Vaccinium membranaceum
- When
- Typically July – September — July, August, September. Earlier in the south, later in the north.
- Where it grows
- Mid to high elevation mountain slopes, old burns and open conifer forest in the Rockies, Cascades and BC interior.
- How to know it
- Waist-high shrubs, thin oval leaves, single dark purple berries in the leaf axils — one per stem, not in clusters.
- Look-alikes
- None dangerous. Bears eat them too — make noise.
- Harvest and use
- Pie, jam, pancakes. The best-flavoured berry in the mountain west.
- Caution
- Prime bear habitat in August. Carry spray and talk loudly.
Found in these regions
Hardiness zones 3–8.
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Also ready in September
FruitAugust – SeptemberBeach plum
Prunus maritima
Low sprawling shrub in the sand, with dusty purple plums about the size of a marble.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
NutSeptember – OctoberBlack walnut
Juglans nigra
Tennis-ball green husks lying under a tall tree with long compound leaves; the husk stains everything it touches brown.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0
FruitAugust – SeptemberChokecherry
Prunus virginiana
Long drooping clusters of dark red-to-black cherries on a small tree with finely toothed oval leaves.
How to know it & its look-alikes →Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0
Educational information only. Never eat a wild plant or mushroom identified from a single photograph or description — confirm with a regional field guide or an experienced forager, and know the poisonous species in your area first.