Common Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

• Family: Caprifoliaceae - Honeysuckle ^{[E-flora][Jepson]}

Hazards

• Baneberry Actaea rubra is found locally and is a highly poisonous plant with toxic white or red berries.^{[Personal Note]}
• Occasionally, nausea and vomiting occur" after ingesting the berries. [3]^[TNS]
• With regards to the toxicity of the berries there is "no well - documented serious complications or fatalities in the modern medical literature"[5]^[TNS]
• Symphoricarpos Sp.; Substantial ingestion of berries may cause "nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea".^{[HPIP Shih]}
• The berries have a historical reputation as being poisonous, possibly even fatal if consumed in quantity or by children.^{[CPPlantMush]}
• Delirium, and a semi-comatose have been reported. ^{[CPPlantsMush]}
• "The fruit contains saponins. Although toxic, these substances are very poorly absorbed by the body and so tend to pass through without causing harm. They are also broken down by thorough cooking"^[PFAF]
• An antidote for poisoning from the berries was to eat a large quantity of lard. (187:200) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}

Food

• Fruit - Inedible. Dried and eaten by one group, another group consumed 2-3 berries "to settle the stomach after eating too much fatty food". ^{[Turner&Kuhnlein]} Fruit - raw or cooked[2, 105, 161]. An insipid flavour, it is best if cooked[177]. ^[PFAF]

Other Uses

• Antiperspirant; Berries mashed and rubbed in the armpits. ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Broom; "Branches tied together in a bundle to make a broom. (188:95)" ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Charcoal; Green twigs burned and smoke used to blacken newly made pipes. (82:59) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Hair: used for the hair. ^[UMDEth]
• Soap; Mild decoction of wood used to wash babies. (164:455) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Birthing Aid; "Decoction of berries, bark, or leaves." To clean the system.^{[NAEth Moerman]}. An infusion of the root was also used as an afterbirth and "and hasten convalescence. (as Symphoricarpos racemosus 153:361) ".^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Soil stabilizer; Extensive root system. (200) ^[PFAF]
• Veterinary Use: Branches used to treat endoparasites in ruminants.^{[Lans et al.]} Decoction of crushed roots used for horses failing to void. (82:59) ^[UMD-Eth]

Medicinal Uses

• Bark
  • Cauterization; The branch tips were ignited and used for cauterizing. The patient was to "groan loadly" or the treatment was considered ineffectual.(Boas,1966)^{[Turner&Bell2]}
  • Compress; Used by Pacific Northwest Indians as a compress for pruritus. [1]"^[TNS]
  • Eye medication;^{[Gottesfeld,1992]} The bark was scraped into warm water for this use. ^{[Turner&Bell]} Another remedy appears to consist of the burned berries, mixed with catfish oil, put in a small mussel shell, and applied to the inflamed eyes. (Boas, 1966). ^{[Turner&Bell2]} "Bark and wild rose used to make an eyewash. Fruit chewed and the juice used..." (82:59) ^[UMD-Eth]
  • Tuberculosis medicine. (Skagit) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
  • Venereal Disease - Decoction of root bark(79:47) or roots and stems(109:62) taken for VD. ^[UMD-Eth] Decoction of branches taken as "the best cure for gonorrhea." (150: 64) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Fruit
  • Antidiarrheal; "berry juice swallowed, infusion of berries taken, or mashed berries eaten..." ^{[NAEth Moermna]}
  • Rubbed on rashes, burns (Harry, 1969), and sores. Applied to the neck as a sore throat remedy (Boas, 1890).^{[Turner&Bell1]}
• Leaves - "a strong medicine. (Densmore, 1939)" ^{[Turner&Bell]}
• Plant
  • Infusion of whole plant taken and applied externally for skin rash. (109:62)^[UMD-Eth] The Flathead crushed leaves, fruits, and bark as a poultice for dermatological afflictions "to promote rapid healing with no scarring".
• Root
  • To eased stomach ache and colds(Sweet, 1962).^{[Turner&Bell]} Decoction. ^{[DPL Watts]} Infusion for stomach ache. ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Sap from young shoots used for stomachache. ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Wood
  • Mild decoction "as a wash to keep babies healthy. (164: 458)" ^{[NAEth Moerman][Hart MNT]} Strong decoction of the wood.^{[NAEth Moerman]}

Description

• SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
  • Symphoricarpos albus var. albus ^{[IFBC-E-flora]}
  • Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus ^{[IFBC-E-flora]}

Synonyms

• S. racemosus laevigatus. ^[PFAF]
• S. rivularis.^[PFAF]
  

General "Erect freely branching shrubs 0.5-2.5 m. tall"^[HNW] Shrub growing to 3 m (9ft) by 2 m (6ft).^[PFAF] Deciduous.^{[IFBC-E-flora]}
Lifecycle perennial. ^[WildPNW]
Flowers "Flowers pink or white, bell-shaped." ^[WildPNW] clustered. ^{[CPPlantsMush]} The flowers are hermaphrodite ^[PFAF]
Fruits "fruits pulpy, white, globose or nearly so, often deformed by crowding". ^[HNW] "...measure a quarter to a half inch in diameter." ^{[Hart MNT]}
Leaves leaf blades not hairy on the underside ^[PWOBC] Opposite, obtuse at base and tip, glabrous above.^{[IFBC-Eflora]} 2-5 cm (1-2 in.) long ^{[CPPlantsMush]}
Stem Stems erect, with stiffbranches. ^[WildPNW]
Root often densely colonial from rhizomes^{[IFBC-E-flora]}
Habitat "moist to dry forests, shady to open slopes, at low to mid".^[WildPNW]
Range "Symphoricarpos albus subsp.laevigatus ...can be found in many places at least as far south as the San Francisco Bay region" ^[PWOBC] Dry, open woods throughout most of temperate North America.^{[CPPlantsMush]} "Extremely common in S BC, common in C BC, infrequent northward." ^{[IFBC-E-flora]} transcontinental North America^{[IPBC-E-flora]}
Status Native.^[E-flora]
Similar Species Could be confused with Symphoricarpos hesperius - trailing snowberry ^{[Personal Note]}

Ethnobotany

"...once much used by native Americans."^{[DPL Watts]} The plant was valued for external use because it contains saponins. "These saponins can be toxic, but when applied externally they have a gentle cleansing and healing effect upon the skin, killing body parasites and helping in the healing of wounds." ^[PFAF]

Pharmacology

• Compound decoction - Diuretic.(53:348) ^[UMD-Eth]
• Fruits - strong emetic and cathartic. ^{[Turner&Bell]} Diuretic(Sioux) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Sap - Laxative. ^{[NAEth Moerman]}

Phytochemistry

Cultivation

"Tolerates most soils and conditions, including poor soils and amongst the roots and under the drip of trees[11, 200]." ^[PFAF]

Propagation

"Stored seed requires 3 months warm then 5 months cold stratification[98]." "Cuttings of mature wood, 15 - 25cm long preferably with a heel, in a sheltered bed outdoors in winter. High percentage[78, 200]. Division of suckers in winter." [Unspecified]^[PFAF]

SYMPHORICARPOS WAXBERRY, SNOWBERRY

"Shrub. Stem: decumbent to erect, slender. Leaf: simple, deciduous, short-petioled; blade generally elliptic to round, some often ± lobed. Inflorescence: generally raceme, generally ± terminal, generally few-flowered; flower subtended by 2 fused bractlets. Flower: ± radial; hypanthium ± spheric; calyx with 5-toothed, persistent limb; corolla bell-shaped to ± salverform, generally 5-lobed, white or pink, often ± hairy inside; nectary glands [1]5, ± basal; stamens generally included; ovary chambers 4, styles generally included, stigma head-shaped. Fruit: drupe, generally berry-like, white to pink. Seed: 2 (1 per lateral ovary chamber), ± oblong, planoconvex.
± 10 species: North America, 1 in China. (Greek: to bear fruit together, berries borne in clusters)" ^[Jepson]

Local Species;

1. Symphoricarpos albus - common snowberry ^[E-flora]
2. Symphoricarpos hesperius - trailing snowberry ^[E-flora]

KEY TO SYMPHORICARPOS

1. Stems trailing and rooting at the nodes, the branches rising less than 50 cm................S. hesperius
1. Stems erect, more or less branching, 0.3-3 m tall.
2. Corollas relatively long and narrow, the lobes not more than half the length of the tubes..............S. oreophilus
2. Corollas relatively short and wide, the lobes nearly equalling the tubes.
3. Styles elongate, exserted slightly from the corolla tube, usually long-hairy near the middle.............S. occidentalis
3. Styles short, not exserted from the corolla tube, glabrous.

Uses of Other Related Sp

• Berries of all Symphoricarpos sp. should be cosidered potentially dangerous to consume in quantity. When ripe they are generally safe to eat but may cause upset stomach if eaten raw or excessively ^{[CPPlantsMush]}
• Symphoricarpos sp.; Southern Paiute - smoked the leaves of a snowberry species for unknown reasons. [1].^[UAPDS]
  • "Symphoricarpos sp., Snowberry · Drug-Chippewa Cathartic Decoction of root, a very strong remedy, taken as a physic. (53:346)"^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• S. mollis; "Sprigs bound together and used as brooms; stems used for baskets, toy arrows"; berries possibly eaten [3]^[Ethchumash]
• Symphoricarpos oreophilus - Whortleleaf Snowberry - Navajo, Ramah Leaves used as a ceremonial emetic. (191:45) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}
• Similar uses to S. albus were found with the following species; Symphoricarpos longiflorus (Desert Snowberry), Symphoricarpos mollis , (Creeping Snowberry), and Symphoricarpos occidentalis (Western Snowberry) ^{[NAEth Moerman]}

References

• E-flora - http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Symphoricarpos%20albus&redblue=Both&lifeform=4, Accessed July 7, 2015
• Ethchumash - Ethnobotany of Chumash Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington, JAN TIMBROOK, Economic Botany, 44(2), 1990,pp. 236-253
• Gottesfeld,1992 - THE IMPORTANCE OF BARK PRODUCTS IN THE ABORIGINAL ECONOMIES OF NORTHWESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA~ CANADA, LESLIEM. JOHNSONGOTTESFELD Economic Botany 46(2) pp. 148-157. 1992
• Jepson - Charles D. Bell & Lauramay T. Dempster, 2012. Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_IJM.pl?tid=66912, accessed on Oct 9 2013
• Lans et al. - Ethnoveterinary medicines used for ruminants in British Columbia, Canada, Cheryl Lans, Nancy Turner, Tonya Khan, Gerhard Brauer and Willi Boepple, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2007, 3:11, http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/3/1/11
• PFAF Accessed July 10, 2015 http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Symphoricarpos+albus+laevigatus
  • 1 - Turner NJ , Hebda RJ . Contemporary use of bark for medicine by two Salishan native elders of Southeast Vancouver Island, Anada . J Ethnopharmacol 1990 ; 29 : 59 – 72 .
  • 3 - Lewis WH . Snowberry (Symphoricarpos ) poisoning in children . JAMA 1979 ; 242 : 2663 .
  • 5 - Lamminp ä ä A , Kinos M . Plant poisonings in children. Hum Exp Toxicol 1996 ; 15 : 245 – 249 .
• Turner&Bell - The Ethnobotany of the Coast Salish Indians of Vancouver Island, Nancy Chapman Turner & Marcus A. M. Bell, Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Submitted for publication 9 June 1969.
• Turner&Bell2 - The Ethnobotany of the Southern Kwakiutl Indians of British Columbia, Nancy Chapman Turner & Marcus A. M. Bell, ECONOMIC BOTANY 27: 257-310. July-September 1973
  • 1 - (Dunmire and Tierney 1997)
• UMD-Eth - University of Michigan - Dearborn College of Arts, Sciences and Letters - Ethnobotany http://herb.umd.umich.edu/ (Online version of NAEth Moerman)