Symphoricarpos occidentalis

Native

Common

Moist. Prairies, moist low ground.

Late June to August

White to light pink

Up to 40″

This is a low, bushy shrub that rises from rhizomes and forms dense thickets.

Young twigs are pale green to light red-brown and are covered with short hairs or, rarely, are hairless. Older twigs develop gray-brown, shredding bark.

The leaves are opposite, thick, and leathery. They are egg-shaped to oblong egg-shaped, 1″ to 3″ long, and ⅔″ to 2″ wide. The margins are untoothed or have a few coarse, irregular, blunt or rounded teeth. The upper surface is hairless, the lower surface often has short, stiff hairs at least along the main veins.

The inflorescence is dense, short spikes of stalkless flowers rising from the upper leaf axils and at the ends of branches.

The flowers are urn-shaped with 5 white to light pink, spreading petals and 5 protruding stamens.

The fruit is a white to greenish white, berry-like drupe containing two seeds. The fruits turn purple in the fall.