By Bill Ward
Published in The Boerne Star in February 2006
A plant that was introduced into horticultural in 1727 is the February 2006 Plant of the Month for Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!). This is the Texas-native shrub called coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus). It also is known in some parts as Indian currant, buckbush, and snowberry.
Coralberry is a 1- to 2-foot-high shrub with many slender branches and twigs that are lined with small oval leaves. Older twigs have shreddy bark. During late fall and winter, purple-pink or wine-colored berrylike fruit are scattered along the branches.
The plant is slow to lose its leaves in the winter, and new leaves sprout early; so it is almost evergreen. After the first heavy frost, leaves are tinged with red.
This member of the honeysuckle family is a tough plant that can tolerate a variety of soils and drainage conditions. Judging from its natural habitats along streams and in woods, coralberry probably prefers shade or dappled shade. However, it is said to tolerate sunny locations as well. Coralberry is highly drought-resistant, once established.
Coralberry is a medium- to fast-growing shrub. One caution to landscapers is that it tends to spread by underground stems, forming ever-expanding thickets. Coralberry is used in landscapes as low-growing border shrubs or tall groundcover. It also is used for erosion control. The US Department of Transportation lists coralberry among those plants it recommends for roadside planting in Texas (as well as in many other states).
The Boerne Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas provides free planting and care instructions for coralberry at nurseries participating in Operation NICE! (Hill Country African Violets and Nursery, Barkley’s Nursery Center, and Maldonado Landscape and Nursery).
The natural range of coralberry is a good indication this little shrub would be adaptable to a variety of landscapes. It is spread over much of the eastern half of the US and even farther westward in some places. I was just in Wisconsin and learned that coralberry is one of that state’s native plants. Apparently it can survive winters that are Wisconsin-cold as well as summers that are Texas-hot.
In Texas, coralberry is most common in East and Central Texas, but it does occur on the Edwards Plateau. There is a nice stand of coralberry in the floor of a small canyon off of the main canyon at the Government Canyon State Natural Area just west of Helotes in northern Bexar County. Has anyone spotted it in Kendall County?
The common names of “coralberry,” “Indian currant,” and “snowberry” focus on one thing that makes this plant desirable in yards, namely, the colorful fall and winter “berries.” The small fruit are said to be eaten by at least a dozen different birds, but supposedly they are poisonous to humans if eaten in quantity.
“Coral” in “coralberry” apparently refers to the red color of the fruit. Among other native plants, coralbean has large red seeds, coral honeysuckle has red flowers, and coral yucca has red or yellow flowers. These plants seem to have no similarities with coral the animal; so they must be named for coral the color, even if the red in question does not fit the definition of coral-colored.
According to Webster’s, “coral” is yellowish red or pinkish yellow. I’ve always thought that a curious definition, because of all the many different corals I’ve seen in the Caribbean and Pacific, none were even close to being pink or red. My older daughter recently answered my question about coral the color by showing me some jewelry made from “red coral.” It turns out to be a coral relative, from the same group that includes “black coral.” Not a real coral, but close enough, I guess.
