Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
Common name: 
Indiancurrant Coralberry
Buckbrush
Pronunciation: 
sim-fo-ri-KAR-pos or-bik-EW-lah-tus
Family: 
Caprifoliaceae
Genus: 
Symphoricarpos
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous shrub, 2-5 ft (0.6-1.5 m) high, 4-8 ft (1.2-2.5 m) wide, upright, shoots pubescent; bark brown, finely shredded.  Spreads by underground stems (rhizomes) and forms large colonies in forested areas.  Leaves opposite, simple, 2-4 cm long, oval-rounded, base wedge shaped (cuneate) to rounded, margin usually entire, dull dark green above, more gray-green and pubescent below, often reddish in fall.  Flowers in small, dense, axillary clusters on short spikes, petals 4 mm long, yellowish white, turning pink; blooms in summer.  Fruit nearly spherical (globose), coral to purple, 4-6 mm thick, persistent.
  • Sun to part shade.  Frequently used as a ground cover on banks; grown for is colorful fruit and fall foliage.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 2      Native to eastern United States westward to Nebraska and Texas
  • orbiculatus: round and flat, an apparent reference to the leaves
  • Silverton, Oregon: The Oregon Garden
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  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • leafy shoot

    leafy shoot

  • leaves

    leaves

  • plant habit, fall

    plant habit, fall

  • leafy shoot with fruit, fall

    leafy shoot with fruit, fall

  • fruit, fall

    fruit, fall