In the coastal belt of eastern Texas as far as Matagorda Bay, farkleberry, or tree huckleberry, grows in moist sandy soil along the banks of ponds and streams. Although it is found from Virginia to Missouri and southward, it reaches its largest size, 20 to 30 feet, near the Gulf Coast of Texas. The crooked trunk may attain a diameter of 8 to 10 inches. Further inland it is a large shrub.
TREE SPARKLEBERRY (Nearly natural size)
The LEAVES are [oval] and glossy green, varying up to 2 inches in length and 1 inch in width. They are mostly evergreen, or at least persist on the twigs during the winter.
The FLOWERS are small, white, and bell-shaped, and appear in long open clusters on racemes.
The [FRUIT] consist of small, round, shiny, nearly black berries which ripen in the fall and, unless eaten by birds or animals, remain until spring. They have a slightly puckering but pleasing flavor.
The WOOD is heavy, hard, close-grained, and light reddish-brown. It is sometimes used for tool handles.
GUM BUMELIA (Woolly Buckthorn—Gum-Elastic)
Bumelia lanuginosa (Michx.) Pers.
Gum bumelia, often called false buckthorn or chittamwood, occurs along streams in sandy woods in eastern Texas to the San Antonio River and over the Edwards Plateau to Palo Pinto County. It reaches its largest development probably in Central Texas where it occasionally grows as a tree 80 feet high and 3 feet in diameter.
