Symphoricarpos (redirected from Symphoricarpus)

Symphoricarpos 

a genus of plants of the family Capri-foliaceae. Deciduous shrubs measuring 1–3 m tall, the plants have simple, opposite leaves and white, yellowish, greenish, or, most commonly, pink flowers. The flowers are usually gathered in racemes or apical spicate inflorescences. The corolla is tubular or campanulate and has a regular four- or five-lobed blade. The calyx is four- or five-toothed. The fruit is berrylike and has two seeds.

There are approximately 15 species, distributed primarily in North America. One species occurs in China. The plants are widely cultivated as ornamentals. Especially popular as an ornamental is the snowberry (S. albus), a shrub measuring about 1 m high and having entire oval leaves (rarely emarginate-lobed) and pinkish flowers. The plant is particularly decorative in autumn, owing to the appearance of globose white fruits that measure about 1 cm across.

REFERENCES

Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 6. Moscow-Leningrad, 1962.
Jones, G. N. “A Monograph of the Genus Symphoricarpos.” Journal of the Arnold Arboretum Harvard University, 1940, vol. 21, no. 2.

V. N. GLADKOVA