3. Symphoricarpos orbiculatus Moench (coralberry, buckbrush, Indian currant)
Map 1433, Pl.
336 c, d
Plants shrubs
0.5–1.2(–2.0) m tall. Bark gray to grayish brown, thin, tending to become
shredded or occasionally peeling in thin plates. Petioles 2–3(–5) mm long. Leaf
blades 1.0–4.5 cm long, 8–28 mm wide, elliptic to ovate or oblong, broadly
rounded or broadly angled at the base, rounded or angled to a bluntly or less
commonly sharply pointed tip, the upper surface bright green to dark green, the
undersurface pale green, short-hairy, usually not glaucous. Flowers mostly
sessile, appearing in clusters or short spikes. Corollas 3–4 mm long, lobed
about 1/3 of the way to the base, greenish white and usually purplish-tinged.
Stamens with the anthers 0.9–1.2 mm long, not or only slightly exserted from
the corolla. Styles hairy. Fruits 3–4 mm in diameter, pink to reddish purple or
purple, rarely white. Nutlets 2.5–3.2 mm long, elliptic to oblong-elliptic in
outline, more or less rounded at each end. 2n=18. July–August.
Common throughout
the state (eastern U.S. west to South Dakota and Texas; Canada, Mexico;
introduced in New Mexico, Utah). Bottomland forests, mesic to dry upland
forests; bases, ledges, and tops of bluffs, banks of streams and rivers, and
margins of upland prairies; also pastures, old fields, fencerows, railroads,
and roadsides.
This species is
planted as an ornamental, desirable because of its striking red berries and
tolerance of drought, cold, and heavy soils. However, S. orbiculatus is
an indicator of degraded forests and woodlands that tends to form dense
thickets in response to disturbance from grazing. Rare plants with white fruits
have been called f. leucocarpus (D. Andrews) Rehder. Steyermark (1963)
noted that in some southern states, the stems have been used in basketry.