Symphoricarpos, a member of the honeysuckle family (Capri- 

 f oliaceae) , is a small genus of chiefly North American shrubs, widely 

 distributed in the United States and southern Canada, and also ex- 

 tending into Mexico. Under a conservative nomenclature, there are 

 about 12 species of the genus, 10 of which occur in the western range 

 country; the other 2 are largely eastern in their distribution. One 

 species is confined to Mexico, and one additional species grows in 

 China. The generic name is derived from the Greek verb symphoreo, 

 bear together, and karpos, fruit, referring to the clustered fruits. 

 These shrubs are frequently known on the range by the indis- 

 tinctive name buckbrush; other common names include Indian- 

 currant, St. Peterswort, waxberry, and wolfberry. With one excep- 

 tion, all the United States species have white or slightly pink 

 berries. The white-fruited species are most commonly called snow- 

 berries, and the single red-fruited species ($. orbiculatus] is dubbed 

 coralberry. Many of the American species are closely related and 

 so similar that it is difficult, at least for those unversed in technical 

 botany, to differentiate between some of them. However, for prac- 

 tical range administration, specific determination is probably not 

 essential, since the palatability of the more common and abundant 

 species is almost identical. 



Coralberry (S. orbiculaftus, syns. S. symphoricar'pos, S. viiZ- 

 ga'ris) is a chiefly eastern species, ranging from New York to 

 Georgia, Texas, Colorado, and Montana. Its range is extending, as 

 a result of escape from cultivation. In the West, this species grows 

 principally along streams at the lower elevations and, from a range 

 standpoint, is neither particularly abundant nor important, although 

 one of the popular species for decorative plantings, because of its 

 hardiness, its prolific, enduring, coral-colored fruit, and almost 

 evergreen foliage. 



As a group, the snowberries are most typical of medium eleva- 

 tions in the Rocky Mountain region, being abundant chiefly in the 

 ponderosa-pine, aspen, and spruce belts at elevations of from 6,000 

 to 9,000 feet. On the Pacific coast, however, several species are 

 common at lower elevations; in fact, some species occur practically 

 at sea level. They grow on dry and moist soils and on all slopes 

 both in shade and in full sunlight. In the Northwest snowberries 

 occur most abundantty along the drainage lines in association with 

 other shrubs, or in parks and openings in the timber. In the Inter- 

 mountain region, central Rocky Mountains, and Southwest they 

 largely prefer relatively dry, southern slopes where they are often 

 the dominant shrubs in small patches. Sampson (in Tidestrom) 1 

 states that mountain snowberry (S. oreophilus) is the most con- 

 spicuous shrub of the aspen-fir belt of the Intermountain region. 



The palatability of snowberries varies in different localities and 

 with different plant associations. In general there is a tendency for 

 Symphoricarpos species to have greater palatability in the Inter- 

 mountain region and on the drier eastern and southern ranges than 

 in the more northern and western areas. 2 However, in the desert 



1 Tidestrom, I. FLORA OF UTAH AND NEVADA. U. S. Natl. Mus., Contrib. U. S. Natl. 

 Herbarium 25, 665 pp., illus. 1925. 



2 Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



