BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Symphoricarpos mollis | Creeping Snowberry 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Creeping snowberry is a trailing shrub about 1.5 to 2 feet (0.3-1.5 m)
high. Its branches trail from 3 to 6 feet (1-3 m).  Leaves are opposite
on hairy twigs; flowers form clusters.  Creeping snowberry produces a
white, round fruit with two nutletts [11,15,24].
  


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Creeping snowberry mainly reproduces by rhizomes.  It is typically not a
seed banker as seeds "probably are not viable for long or do not survive
fire" [22].  Birds and small mammals disperse seeds [11].  To break
dormancy, seeds can be treated with sulfuric acid and stratified for 6
months in sand or soil at temperatures between 36 to 46 degrees
Fahrenheit (2-8 degrees C) [21].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Creeping snowberry most commonly occurs on dry, sunny slopes at low to mid
elevations [2,4,11,16,33], although it can occur in shady, mesic communities
as well [6,24,25].  Creeping snowberry forms its greatest cover in 60 to
100 percent full sunlight [7].  Elevational ranges have been listed for
California: 1,000 to 5,000 feet (305-1,500 m) [6,12] and Oregon: 1,000
to 6,480 feet (305-1,975m) [2,3,29].  Creeping snowberry occurs on
coarse sands and gravels, sandy alluvium deposits, as well as fine
sandy-loam and silt loams, and moderately deep floodplains and terraces
[13,20].  In British Columbia creeping snowberry occurs in maritime and
submaritime climates on moderately dry nitrogen-medium soils [33].

Some overstory associates of creeping snowberry include big leaf maple
(Acer macrophyllum), California hazel (Corylus cornuta), incense-cedar
(Calocedrus decurrens), red alder (Alnus rubra), white fir (Abies
concolor), red fir (A.  magnifica), western hemlock, and Douglas-fir.
Some understory associates include redstem ceanothus (Ceanothus
sanguineus), salal (Gaultheria shallon), red huckleberry (Vaccinium
parvifolium) oceanspray (Holodiscus spp.), rhododendron (Rhododendron
spp.), mahonia (Berberis spp.), currant (Ribes spp.), rattail fescue
(Festuca myuros), and silver hairgrass (Aira caryophyllea) [3,4].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Creeping snowberry is an indicator in some forested communities of the
Pacific Northwest [1,11,29].  It is shade intolerant and
indicative of warm, dry sites [10,14,33].  It becomes a dominant shrub
in Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) stand openings [19].  


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Flowering dates for creeping snowberry have been listed as follows:

Oregon: June through July [11]
southern California: March through August [6]

Related categories for Species: Symphoricarpos mollis | Creeping Snowberry