Common Snowberry

Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus
NATIVE

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceae)
• Deciduous shrub
  • Thicket-forming with upright, arching branches
  • Grows from rhizomes (horizontal underground stems)
• Stems
  • Narrow, stiff, and spreading
  • Smooth (without hairs) (Allshouse and Nelson 2022)
• Leaves
  • Opposite (2 leaves at each junction with stem)
  • Oval to oblong
  • Thin and soft
  • Entire (with smooth edges) to slightly lobed
  • Smooth (hairless) on both sides
• Flowers
  • Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a terminal raceme (unbranched stem with stalked flowers opening from the bottom up)
  • Up to 16 small, bell-shaped flowers
  • Buds are pink, turning white
  • All 5 nectary glands in one swollen corolla lobe
  • Ovary inferior (below the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit is a white, spongy, berry-like drupe (a fleshy fruit with usually 1 seed in a hard inner shell — a stone fruit), containing 2 nutlets
• Height to 6 ft.

Distribution

• Native to California
  • Grows in woodlands, along stream banks and north-facing slopes
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Outside California grows from southern Alaska south to California and east to Montana and Colorado
  • Naturalized in eastern United States
• Grows at elevations to 4,000 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Wildlife
  • Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and many other pollinators
  • Berry-like fruits, available in winter, are an important food source for many birds and mammals
  • Leaves browsed by deer
  • Habitat and cover for birds and small mammals
• Native people
  • Medicinal uses
    • Infusion of roots for colds and stomach aches
    • Infusion of twigs for fever
    • Mashed fruit to treat sore eyes or moisturize skin
  • Fruit used as a soap or shampoo
  • Fruits used for fishing
    • Crushed fruits were thrown in great quantities into slow-moving creeks or pools to stun fish, aiding in their capture (Bressette 2017)
    • Soap-like saponins in the fruits enter through the gills and interfere with oxygen absorption and transport (Rosenthal 2014)
    • Fruits of California buckeye (Aesculus californica) and California manroot (Marah fabacea), as well as the bulbs of soap plant (Chlorogalum pomeridianum var. pomeridianum), also contain saponins and were similarly used for fishing
  • Wood uses
    • Branches tied together for a broom
    • Wood used to construct cradle boards
    • Stems sharpened and used as root digging sticks
    • Hollow stems used for pipe stems and for arrow shafts for small bird hunting
  • Bushes were actively managed by pruning and burning, stimulating many positive effects (Anderson 2005)
    • Vigorous and straighter shoots
    • Larger and more numerous fruits 
    • Less congested canopies
    • Reduced insect infestations
    • Recycled nutrients 
• CAUTION – fruit contains saponins, which are considered toxic
  • These berry-like fruits have such an unpleasant, soapy taste that one is not likely to eat a toxic quantity; best to leave them for wildlife

Name Derivation

• Symphoricarpos (sim-for-i-KAR-pos) – from the Greek symphorein, “bunched together,” and karpos, “fruit,” referring to the fruit clusters
• albus (AL-bus) – from the Latin for “white,” referring to the fruit
• laevigatus (lee-vi-GAY-tus) – from the Latin laevis, “smooth” or “polished,” referring to the fruit

Notes

• Geophytes (e.g. plants growing from bulbs, corms, rhizomes, or enlarged taproots) are well adapted to survive fire, our Mediterranean climate’s long, dry summers, and extended droughts
  • Above-ground growth dies back after flowering, while underground the plant survives with stored water and nutrients
• Fruit typically ripens by early September, coinciding with the dropping of leaves, and commonly remains on the plant over winter
• Edgewood’s snowberry is classified as a variety
  • Subspecies rank is used to recognize geographic distinctiveness, whereas variety rank is appropriate for variants seen throughout the geographic range of the species; in practice, these two ranks are not distinct

ID Tips

• May be confused with creeping snowberry (S. mollis)

	Creeping Snowberry	Common Snowberry
Growth Habit	sprawling, low-growing	upright
Height	≤ 2 ft.	≤ 6 ft.
Inflorescence	2-8 flowers	8-16 flowers
Flowers	symmetrical (nectary at base of each lobe)	asymmetrical (one bulging lobe contains all 5 nectaries)

At Edgewood

• Found in woodlands, especially in areas with more shade and moisture
  • Found along the Sylvan trail near the waterfall; also in woodland area of the Edgewood trail
  • See iNaturalist for observations of Symphoricarpos albus
• Flowers April – June

See General References

Specific References

Allshouse, D., and D. Nelson. 2022. San Bruno Mountain: A Guide to the Flora and Fauna. HeyDay, Berkeley, California. 

Anderson, M.K. 2005. Tending the Wild. University of California, Berkeley. Pp. 234-235.

Bressette, D.K. 2017, Feb. 27. Common snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus. Native Plants PNW.

Regents of the University of California. Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus  [Illustration of nectaries, adapted]. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.

—–. Symphoricarpos mollis [Illustration of nectaries, adapted]. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.

McWilliams, J. 2000. Symphoricarpos albus. Fire Effects Information System. United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.

Rosenthal, S. 2014, Jan. 13. The many uses of spring-blooming soaproot. Bay Nature.