Symphoricarpos

"Snowberry" redirects here. It may also refer to members of the genus Chiococca.

Symphoricarpos
Common Snowberry (S. albus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Dipsacales
Family:	Caprifoliaceae
Genus:	Symphoricarpos Duhamel[1][2]
Species
About 15 species; see text

Symphoricarpos, with common names in English of Snowberry, Waxberry or Ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. All species are natives of North and Central America, except one native to western China. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek words συμφορειν (symphorein), meaning "to bear together," and καρπος (karpos), meaning "fruit." It refers to the closely packed berries the species produce.^[3]

Description

The Symphoricarpos leaves are 1.5–5 cm long, rounded, entire or with one or two lobes at the base. The flowers are small, greenish-white to pink, in small clusters of 5–15 together in most species, solitary or in pairs in some (e.g. S. microphyllus). The fruit are conspicuous, 1–2 cm in diameter, soft, varying from white (e.g. S. albus) to pink (S. microphyllus) to red (S. orbiculatus) and in one species (S. sinensis), blackish purple. When the white berries are broken open, the fruit inside looks like fine, sparkling granular snow.

Ecology

Common Snowberry (S. albus) is an important winter food source for quail, pheasant, and grouse, but is considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain the isoquinoline alkaloid chelidonine, as well as other alkaloids. Ingesting the berries causes mild symptoms of vomiting, dizziness, and slight sedation in children.

Selected species

Symphoricarpos acutus (A.Gray) Dieck – Sharpleaf snowberry Symphoricarpos albus (L.) S.F.Blake – Common snowberry S. albus var. albus S. albus var. laevigatus (Fernald) S.F.Blake Symphoricarpos ×chenaultii Rehder – Chenault coralberry Symphoricarpos ×doorenbosii Krüssm. Symphoricarpos guadalupensis Correll – McKittrick's snowberry Symphoricarpos hesperius G.N.Jones – Trailing snowberry Symphoricarpos longiflorus A.Gray – Desert snowberry Symphoricarpos mexicanus – Mexican snowberry

Symphoricarpos microphyllus Kunth – Littleleaf snowberry Symphoricarpos mollis Nutt. – Creeping snowberry Symphoricarpos occidentalis Hook. – Western snowberry, Wolfberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Moench – Coralberry Symphoricarpos oreophilus A.Gray – Mountain snowberry Symphoricarpos palmeri G.N.Jones – Palmer's snowberry Symphoricarpos rotundifolius A.Gray – Roundleaf snowberry S. rotundifolius var. parishii (Rydb.) Dempster S. rotundifolius var. rotundifolius Symphoricarpos sinensis – Chinese coralberry[2][4]

Cultivation and uses

Common snowberry is a popular ornamental shrub in gardens, grown for its decorative white fruit and wildlife gardening.

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  Symphoricarpos albus flowers

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  Symphoricarpos orbiculatus fruits, mid-October

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  Symphoricarpos vulgaris . Drawn by Eersde Deel, 1813.

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  Symphoricarpos orbiculatus fruits in winter

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  Symphoricarpos orbiculatus fruits in autumn

References

1. ^ "Genus: Symphoricarpos Duhamel". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 1998-09-18. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?11759. Retrieved 2011-09-13. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Symphoricarpos". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=35330. Retrieved 2011-09-13. 
3. ^ Everett, Thomas H. (1982). The New York Botanical Garden Illustrated Encyclopedia of Horticulture. Taylor & Francis. p. 3271. ISBN 9780824072407. http://books.google.com/books?id=KeGzp-YXrPYC&. 
4. ^ "GRIN Species Records of Symphoricarpos". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?11759. Retrieved 2011-09-13. 

External links

• USDA PLANTS Profile
• Winter ID pictures
• Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System Notes on poisoning: thin-leaved snowberry
• Symphoricarpos orbiculatus images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu