Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.132611
Element CodePDERI0G020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderEricales
FamilyEricaceae
GenusGaylussacia
Other Common Namesbox huckleberry (EN)
Concept ReferenceKartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic CommentsSpecies is distinctive; plants from South Carolina (Lexington Co.) that were once misidentified as this were subsequently described as a different species, Vaccinium sempervirens (telephone communication with A. Pittman from SCHP, 31Oct94).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Biotics v1
Review Date2020-03-04
Change Date2001-02-01
Edition Date2020-03-04
Edition AuthorsHarmon, P., B. McDonald and L. Morse (1986), rev. L. Morse & P.J. Harmon (1994), rev. L. Morse (2000, 2001), rev. Treher (2020)
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank ReasonsGaylussacia brachycera is a slow growing, clonal, dwarf evergreen shrub of the eastern U.S.A., occurring in southern Pennsylvania and Delaware to Tennessee and North Carolina, mainly in the Appalachians but with a few locations on the coastal plain and piedmont. A clone in Perry County, Pennsylvania is thought to be one of the world's oldest species, estimated to be thousands of years old. This species is self incompatible and given its isolated distribution, the clones are rarely able to set seed. The number of genets rangewide is not known, as some contain more than one. Many sites are adequately protected (at least in short term). The low number of genetic individuals is counterbalanced by the substantial size and extreme persistence of most clones (and therefore presumed wide within-clone tolerance for habitat and vegetation changes, normal pests and diseases, and even modest climate change).
Range Extent CommentsGaylussacia brachycera occurs in Southern Pennsylvania and Delaware to Tennessee, mainly in the Appalachians. There are a few sites on the Coastal Plain in Maryland and Delaware. There is one site on the piedmont of North Carolina.
Occurrences CommentsThere are around eighty occurrences rangewide. F.W. Gray reported about seventy-five sites in West Virginia in 1920's but currently there are twelve known---it is unclear how Gray's sites relate to West Virginia's occurrences. There might be around twenty in Tennessee and similarly in Kentucky.
Threat Impact CommentsDestruction of a clone, or substantial depletion (increasing risk of future decline) are the major threats to this species, from causes such as intensive forestry management, clearing for agriculture or development, road-building, or (in a few sites) strip mining. There is also occasional minor collecting for horticulture, but the species is easily grown from cuttings (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002).