Description
Symphoricarpos (Coralberry) sim-for-ee-KAR-pus
Symphoricarpos, commonly called coralberry, is a bushy, rounded, deciduous shrub that is native to dry rocky wooded slopes, banks and forests from Nova Scotia to British Columbia south to Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois and Virginia. Oblong-elliptic to rounded, dull green leaves produce little fall color. Tiny, bell-shaped, pink flowers bloom in clusters in the leaf axils in summer. Flowers are followed by clusters of globose berries that initially are pale green, but ripen to pure white by late summer to early autumn. Fruits remain attractive on the naked winter stems in large part because most birds do not find them appetizing. Genus name comes from the Greek symphorein meaning bear together and karpos meaning fruit in reference to the fruits appearing in clusters.
