Maleberry is awakening late in spring, when some other close relatives of this plant, such as highbush blueberry, are already flowering. Tidmarsh Sanctuary, May 12

Maleberry flowers a whole month later than other shrubs of heather family. A thief robbed these flowers of the nectar by making a side hole in each flower—without performing the pollinating procedure. Myles Standish SF, Carver, July 4

As opposed to highbush blueberry, with which it has much in common in appearance, maleberry does not produce edible fruits. The capsules produced by maleberry are long-lasting, so that one can often find two or sometimes three generations of fruit from different years on the same shrub. Tidmarsh Sanctuary, Plymouth, October 22