IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS 149 
Redberry elder (S. callicarpa, syn. S. racemosa callicarpa; also, 
fide Piper (99), S. lecosperma), a shrub or small tree 8 to 20 feet high, 
ranging in canyons and coastal flats from British Columbia to Cali- 
fornia, and highly ornamental when the brilliant scarlet fruit is 
ripe (about August 15 to September 15), is the largest of these 
species. In the fall this is considered good sheep and fairly good 
cattle browse, but it is often either local or inaccessible to livestock. 
Blackbead elder (S. melanocarpa), known locally as mountain 
elder(berry), has black fruit, but otherwise its affinities are with the 
red-berried group of elders. It is a smooth shrub (pl. 11, B) 3 to 
10 feet high, ranging from British Columbia to California, New 
Mexico, and Alberta, inhabiting such sites as stream banks, shaded 
areas, damp gulches, and other places where snow lies late in the 
spring, reaching its best development in rich moist loams. It is gen- 
erally distributed in the yellow pine and Engelmann spruce-lodge- 
pele pine zones, but, while fairly abundant, is seldom a dominant 
‘species of the association. In some places it is a fair to fairly good 
| sheep browse and poor to fair summer cattle browse, but in others 
poor or practically worthless for all classes; after frost, however, 
the palatability is good, very good, or excellent for sheep and fairly 
good or good for cattle. 
Bunechberry elder (S. microbotrys) is one of the smallest and most 
common of the western elders. It is a smooth shrub, 114 to 614 feet 
high, with a small compact convex cluster of red fruits. Its range 
is from South Dakota to New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, occur- 
ring in the mountains in moist canyons, slopes, and table-lands, from 
the yellow pine type up to subalpine elevations. This is one of the 
elders that are sometimes rather extensively browsed in summer; 
in the fall its palatability varies from fairly good to good for cattle 
and from fairly good to very good for sheep, or sometimes excellent 
in late fall. Sampson and Weyl employed the species in their 
plantations against erosion on the Manti Forest (174). 
Searlet elder (S. pubens), known also as bore tree, boutry, red- 
berried elder, and red elderberry, apparently ranges from New- 
foundland and Labrador to Alaska, California, Missouri, and 
Georgia. It is a pubescent shrub 2 to 12 feet high with reddish 
pith and berries, and usually inhabits moist rocky banks, swamps, 
ravines, and the like, but sometimes occurs in dry woods, and is often 
common. It is often confused with the European red elder 
(S. racemosa) from which, however, it is quite distinct. In Wash- 
| ington scarlet elder is found to be worthless as browse until July; 
from that time its palatability increases until by September or 
October it is excellent sheep and fairly good cattle browse. These 
observations doubtless hold true in a general way throughout its 
western range. The berries are reputed to have a toxic effect on 
human beings, but are eaten in the fall by sheep with apparent 
_ impunity. 
SNOWBERRIES AND CORALBERRIES (SYMPHORICARPOS SPP.) 
The genus Symphoricarpos is confined to North America and con- 
sists of about a dozen species, all shrubs, nine of which occur in the 
Rocky Mountain region. They are sometimes called buckbrush, 
Indiar currant, St. Peter’s-wort, waxberry, wolfberry, and other 
