HEATH FAMILY (Ericaceae)
TREE-HUCKLEBERRY
Herbs or shrubs; sepals 4-5; corolla urn-shaped or cylindric, 4-5-lobed; stamens 8 or 10; anthers opening by terminal pores; ovary superior or inferior.
Tree-Huckleberry. Farkleberry (Batodendron arboreum) is also known as upland-huckleberry, sparkleberry, and gooseberry. The name is Greek and means “blackberry tree.” The huckleberries are often placed in a family separate from other heaths. The tree-huckleberry is a shrub or small tree, very abundant in the woods of East Texas and the Southern States. The dainty, drooping sprays of white bell-shaped flowers remind one of the lily-of-the-valley. The shining oval leaves are short-stalked, 1-2 in. long. The black berries are not edible.
Well-known members of the heath family include the trailing arbutus, cranberry, blueberry, bean-berry, winter-green, rhododendron, and azalea. Thickets of the pink azalea or swamp-honeysuckle (Azalea nudiflora) occur in a few places in East Texas. In the mountains of Southwest Texas may be found the arbutus-tree, madroña, or naked Indian, so called because of its red wood and scaling bark. Its small, red fleshy fruits look like strawberries. Stagger-bush (Neopieris mariana) is a common shrub in swampy places.