Mountain Huckleberry vs Northern Black Currant - TreeTime.ca

Mountain Huckleberry vs Northern Black Currant

Vaccinium membranaceum

Ribes hudsonianum

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Mountain Huckleberry
Northern Black Currant

Mountain Huckleberry is a small shrub known for its tart to sweet berries. The berries range from purple-black to red-black, and can be eaten fresh or used in jams and syrups. It is a plant native to Alberta and the berries are frequently enjoyed by both people and wildlife.

In traditional Indigenous fire management practices, berry patches were burned after harvest. This would reduce the invasion of other plants allowing the Mountain Huckleberry to thrive. Its foliage has low flammability and can survive low severity fires, and even if destroyed they regrow from the roots.

Note: Mountain Huckleberry requires specific soil conditions. They need moist, well-drained, acidic soil with a pH around 5.5.

Northern Black Currant is a native deciduous shrub found across Canada and the northern United States. Dark purple to black berries that ripen in summer and provide food for wildlife and humans. Fragrant yellow-green flowers that attract a wide variety of pollinators.

This shrub is well adapted to moist soils and can even survive periods of flooding. It has an interesting bronze colour in fall.

Mountain Huckleberry Quick Facts

Northern Black Currant Quick Facts

Zone: 5a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 0.6 m (2.0 ft)
Spread: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to prostrate, thicket-forming
Spreading: seeds - low, layering - low
Suckering: high
Maintenance: medium


Flowers: small white, in clusters
Bloom time: spring to early summer
Berries: dark purple
Berries: black, edible
Flavor: sweet, acidic
Flavor: bitter
Harvest: mid to late summer
Harvest: mid to late summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, ON, YT, NT
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, YT, NT
Other Names: big huckleberry, black huckleberry, tall bilberry, thinleaf huckleberry
Other Names: hudson bay currant, stinking currant, western black currant, wild black currant