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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Symphoricarpos''
| image = Symphoricarpos albus 7927.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''Symphoricarpos albus'' (Common Snowberry)
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Dipsacales]]
| familia = [[Caprifoliaceae]]
| genus = '''''Symphoricarpos'''''
| genus_authority = [[Johann Jacob Dillenius|Dill.]] ex [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu|Juss.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = About 15 species; see text
}}
'''''Symphoricarpos''''' is a small genus of about 15 species of [[deciduous]] [[shrub]]s in the family [[Caprifoliaceae]]. All but one are natives of [[North America]] and [[Central America]]; the one remaining is from western [[China]]. Its common names in English are '''Snowberry''' and '''Waxberry'''. It is a member of the [[Honeysuckle|Honeysuckle Family]], the [[Caprifoliaceae]].
The [[leaf|leaves]] are 1.5–5 cm long, rounded, entire or with one or two lobes at the base. The [[flower]]s are small, greenish-white to pink, in small clusters of 5–15 together in most species, solitary or in pairs in some (e.g. ''S. microphyllus''). The [[fruit]] are conspicuous, 1–2 cm in diameter, soft, varying from white (e.g. ''S. albus'') to pink (''S. microphyllus'') to red (''S. orbiculatus'') and in one species (''S. sinensis''), blackish purple.
Common Snowberry (''Symphoricarpos albus'') is an important winter food source for [[quail]], [[pheasant]] and [[grouse]], but is considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain the [[isoquinoline]] [[alkaloid]] [[chelidonine]], as well as other alkaloids. Ingesting the berries causes mild symptoms of vomiting, dizziness, and slight [[sedation]] in children.
;Selected species:
*''[[Symphoricarpos albus]]'' - Common Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos mexicanus]]'' - Mexican Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos microphyllus]]'' - Littleleaf Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos mollis]]'' - Creeping Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos occidentalis]]'' - Western Snowberry or Wolfberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos orbiculatus]]'' - Coralberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos oreophilus]]'' - Mountain Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos rotundifolius]]'' - Roundleaf Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos sinensis]]'' - Chinese Coralberry
===Cultivation and uses===
Common Snowberry is a popular [[ornamental plant|ornamental shrub]] in [[garden]]s, grown for its decorative white fruit. There are two varieties, ''S. albus'' var. ''albus'', native to eastern North America, and ''S. albus'' var. ''laevigatus'' native to the Pacific coast. The latter is a larger shrub, up to 2 m tall, and with slightly larger fruit; it is treated as a distinct species ''S. rivularis'' by some [[botanist]]s.
==References and external links ==
{{commons|Symphoricarpos albus|Common Snowberry}}
*[http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=122&p_type=all&p_sci=comm&p_x=px Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System] Notes on poisoning: thin-leaved snowberry
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/syor.htm ''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
<gallery>
Image:Symphoricarpos albus.jpg|''Symphoricarpos albus'' flowers
Image:Coralberry.jpg|''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'' fruits, mid-October
Image:Lonicera symphoricarpos Ypey55.jpg| ''Symphoricarpos vulgaris'' . Drawn by Eersde Deel, 1813.
</gallery>
[[Category:Caprifoliaceae]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Symphoricarpos''
| image = Symphoricarpos albus 7927.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''Symphoricarpos albus'' (Common Snowberry)
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Dipsacales]]
| familia = [[Caprifoliaceae]]
| genus = '''''Symphoricarpos'''''
| genus_authority = [[Johann Jacob Dillenius|Dill.]] ex [[Antoine Laurent de Jussieu|Juss.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = About 15 species; see text
}}
'''''Symphoricarpos''''' is a small genus of about 15 species of [[deciduous]] [[shrub]]s in the family [[Caprifoliaceae]]. All but one are natives of [[North America]] and [[Central America]]; the one remaining is from western [[China]]. Its common names in English are '''Snowberry''' and '''Waxberry'''. It is a member of the [[Honeysuckle|Honeysuckle Family]], the [[Caprifoliaceae]].
The [[leaf|leaves]] are 1.5–5 cm long, rounded, entire or with one or two lobes at the base. The [[flower]]s are small, greenish-white to pink, in small clusters of 5–15 together in most species, solitary or in pairs in some (e.g. ''S. microphyllus''). The [[fruit]] are conspicuous, 1–2 cm in diameter, soft, varying from white (e.g. ''S. albus'') to pink (''S. microphyllus'') to red (''S. orbiculatus'') and in one species (''S. sinensis''), blackish purple.
Common Snowberry (''Symphoricarpos albus'') is an important winter food source for [[quail]], [[pheasant]] and [[grouse]], but is considered poisonous to humans. The berries contain the [[isoquinoline]] [[alkaloid]] [[chelidonine]], as well as other alkaloids. Ingesting the berries causes mild symptoms of vomiting, dizziness, and slight [[sedation]] in children.
;Selected species:
*''[[Symphoricarpos albus]]'' - Common Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos mexicanus]]'' - Mexican Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos microphyllus]]'' - Littleleaf Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos mollis]]'' - Creeping Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos occidentalis]]'' - Western Snowberry or Wolfberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos orbiculatus]]'' - Coralberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos oreophilus]]'' - Mountain Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos rotundifolius]]'' - Roundleaf Snowberry
*''[[Symphoricarpos sinensis]]'' - Chinese Coralberry
===Cultivation and uses===
Common Snowberry is a popular [[ornamental plant|ornamental shrub]] in [[garden]]s, grown for its decorative white fruit. There are two varieties, ''S. albus'' var. ''albus'', native to eastern North America, and ''S. albus'' var. ''laevigatus'' native to the Pacific coast. The latter is a larger shrub, up to 2 m tall, and with slightly larger fruit; it is treated as a distinct species ''S. rivularis'' by some [[botanist]]s.
==References and external links ==
{{commons|Symphoricarpos albus|Common Snowberry}}
*[http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/pp/ppack.info?p_psn=122&p_type=all&p_sci=comm&p_x=px Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System] Notes on poisoning: thin-leaved snowberry
*[http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/frame/syor.htm ''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'' images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu]
<gallery>
Image:Symphoricarpos albus.jpg|''Symphoricarpos albus'' flowers
Image:Coralberry.jpg|''Symphoricarpos orbiculatus'' fruits, mid-October
Image:Lonicera symphoricarpos Ypey55.jpg| ''Symphoricarpos vulgaris'' . Drawn by Eersde Deel, 1813.
</gallery>
[[Category:Caprifoliaceae]]
