What’s your favourite colour?
At this time of year, look for white berries on leafless branches. I’m very striking, very elegant. In summer, I add a touch of colour with my delicate pink flowers. I’m a member of the honeysuckle family.
Do you have a nickname?
Ghostberry, waxberry, white coralberry…. So many names! In Latin, I’m Symphoricarpos albus. Symphori means “bearing together” and carpos means “fruit.” As you can see in my lovely portrait, I wear my white berries in clusters.
Do you have a hidden talent?
Many people think “snow” refers to the colour of my berries or the time of year that I bear fruit. Both are true but there’s another reason. If you look inside the berries, you’ll find white crystals that resemble, you guessed it, snow.
Any other claims to fame?
My berries contain a small amount of saponins. These are natural chemicals with soap-like qualities. Indigenous peoples have long used snowberry to treat skin wounds and many other ailments. Recently, cosmetic companies have taken an interest because they learned that I can help reduce wrinkles!
What’s your favourite hangout?
I grow in the wild and in gardens straight across North America. I’m not picky about hangouts. I like all types of soil and appreciate both sun and shade. I am also fire-tolerant. You might see me growing in clearings after brush fires.
BFFs?
I take care of many friends year ’round. In summer, one BFF is the snowberry clearwing, a moth also known as “the flying lobster.” In winter my role is even more important. Birds like waxwings rely on berries and I’m available in the deep cold. In fact, it’s been reported that many birds wait until snowberries are frozen before eating them because freezing reduces toxicity. My friends are smart!
One wish?
Take time to appreciate plants in wintertime. Notice the different shades and textures of bark, the winter berries or leaves, and our wonderful silhouettes and shadows. There’s so much beauty out here!
Each month, Wild Talk columnist Katherine Barrett interviews a local plant while printmaker Vanessa McKiel captures their portrait.
