Deerberry.Vaccinium stamineum.Squaw Huckleberry.
Found in June, in dry woods.
A branching, leafy shrub, which grows from 2 to 4 feet high; its stalk is stout, and woody, and covered with a gray bark.
The oval leaf seems rather small for the size of the bush; it has an entire margin, a firm texture that is somewhat tough-fibred, and smooth surface. Color, light green, and pale beneath. The leaves are set on very short stems, alternately.
The small bell-shaped corolla spreads into 5 outward curving points; it is white. The stamens form a close, pointed cluster about the pistil and hang out from the flower bell,—they are dull orange in color; the small calyx is green. These bells swing on slender stems, from the angles of little leaves, in thick clusters along the lower sides of the branches.
The Deerberry’s branches stretch out in a nearly horizontal direction; its profusion of pretty bells begin to open while still undeveloped, and are about a fortnight in coming to their full beauty, to which a pleasing touch of individuality is given by the orange-tipped stamens. The fruit is flat to the taste, and gives the bush its second folk-name.