It's Raining Snowberries
let it Snow!
Symphoricarpos Albus
The Snowberry or the Symphoricarpos Albus is a Deciduous Shrub, with a height of around five feet tall. It is a plant unlike any other due to the whiteness of the berries it grows and how no other plant is like it. The spring flowers turn into berries in late summer to early fall, adding for excellent winter affect.
The snowberry can also be referred to as a poison berries or soap berries due to it's reaction in certain elements, such as when you smash a Snowberry in water, it foams. Though reported to be extremely acidic, observations of Native Americans eating them to settle stomach aches after a big meal have been made.
All types of creatures benefit from the Snowberries existence, such as leaves attracting many different species of butterflies and other insects. Birds use it for shady spots of living and for the berries. Rabbits and Mice eat away at the stems.
Defining Characteristics
Besides the extreme whiteness of the berries, It could look like just any other plant. The white berries are generally the size of large marbles, and contain the same color under the surface as the do on the skin, white. The leaves are oval shaped with smooth edges. The vines are usually a deep red to a light brown.
General Information
The snowberry is a Angiosperm, a dicot at that. The duration of this plant is perennial. It's in the family of the Caprifoliaceous.
The plant need minimal water to survive, locally we can find it all around Oregon, as well as most of the United States and Canada, a very common plant indeed.
It's in the honeysuckle family.
In Kentucky the plant is endangered and in Maryland it's threatened.
The Woody Perennial
Did You Know?
The snowberry is inedible in large quantities because of a substance called saponins. The saponins although toxic, are poorly absorbed by the body and eliminated by cooking; this made them a possible food source for many Native American populations. Saponins are much more toxic to some animals than others and some native American tribes used to put them in streams to stupefy or kill the fish. The same characteristics that make them toxic, made them very valuable medicinally. When applied to the skin the berries have a gentle cleansing and healing effect and were used as a topical antibacterial, to kill body parasites and to aid in healing. The whole plant, even the bark and roots, are a disinfectant, diuretic, laxative and can sometimes cause vomiting.
Pollination
Most of the work for pollinating is done by bee's, they carry out their normal duties in the spread of the flower. Other ways this plant get's pollinated are by butterflies, some small insects.
In Winter
When the leaves fall off and all that is left are the berries. This could also be in late Fall.
In Fall Or Summer
When the berries are changing colors from their flowers into the white they are most known for.
Hummingbird Moth
This very uncommon species is very attracted to the Snowberries. They are super cool looking too.