Symphoricarpos, commonly known as the snowberry, waxberry, or ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. With the exception of the Chinese coralberry, S. sinensis, which is indigenous to western China, all species are native to North and Central America. The name of the genus is derived from the Ancient Greek words συμφορεῖν (sumphoreîn), meaning "to bear together", and καρπός (karpós), meaning "fruit". It refers to the closely packed clusters of berries the species produces.[4]
Snowberry is a resilient plant able to withstand a variety of conditions. Snowberry plants are most commonly found in forests, dry or moist openings, rocky hillsides or near riverbanks and streams.[5] They have been known to grow in a variety of soil types such as light sandy soil, medium loamy soil and heavier clay soil.[5] Snowberry plants are also able to grow in a wide range of acidic and basic pHs and sunlight conditions.[5]
Symphoricarpos leaves are 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in) 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 is conspicuous, 1–2 cm (0.5–1 in) 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 interior looks like fine, sparkling granular snow. The flesh is spongy and contains two 2–5 mm long, whitish stone seeds. The seeds, which contain endosperm and a small embryo, are egg-shaped and more or less flattened. They have a very tough, hard, impermeable covering, and so are very hard to germinate and may lie dormant for up to ten years.
The berries are not edible but have a wintergreen flavor, similar to the related wintergreen plant (Gaultheria procumbens).
Snowberry is a hermaphroditic species meaning it contains both male and female reproductive organs.[7] It has the ability to grow via seeds but typically reproduces by releasing shoots from a rhizome. This method of shoot dispersal allows snowberry to grow in dense populations of bushes and trees.[7] Snowberry plants also tend to use a reproductive method called layering in which the plant's vertical stems will wilt and droop until they touch surrounding soil.[8] Upon making contact with soil, roots will begin to form. Snowberry plants are resilient and studies have proved they are able to tolerate dormant seasonal fires. These fires actually encourage the snowberry plant's layering reproductive method, as the regeneration of new plants results in an increased number of stems and therefore more opportunities for layering to occur.[8]
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.