BERBERIDACEAE -- Barberry Family - New Mexico Flores

Scientific Name:
Symphoricarpos rotundifolius
Size:
50 - 150 cm
CAPRIFOLIACEAE -- Honeysuckle Family
Description:
Synonym: Symphoricarpos oreophilus
Shrub, stems much branched, bark peeling;
young twigs glabrous. Leaves opposite, 1 - 3
cm long, oval, toothed or with smooth edges,
mostly glabrous, with petioles 2 mm long,
stipules none. Flowers occur singly or in pairs
in leaf axils, or sometimes in few-flowered
clusters at branch ends. Calyx lobes 5, not
equal, up to 1 mm long, glabrous. Corolla
funnel form, somewhat irregular, 10 - 15 mm
long, 5-lobed, the lobes much shorter than the
tube, this glabrous or somewhat hairy inside.
Stamens 4 or 5 , not exceeding the tube. Ovary
inferior, with 4 cells, 2 usually functional.
Fruit an ellipsoid white berry.
183
Common Name:
Mountain snowberry
Color:
White to pink
Notes:
The genus name Symphoricarpos translates
from Greek as “to bear together”. The creamy
white flowers almost always occur in pairs
which droop from the branches as do the
distinctive white berries. Snowberry bushes are
browsed by deer and the berries are harvested
by numerous birds. They bloom from June into
August between 6500 and 9000 ft.
New Mexico Native