Photo credit
By H. Zell (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Snowberry(Symphoricarpos albus)
“PLANS TO PROTECT AIR AND WATER, WILDERNESS AND WILDLIFE ARE IN FACT PLANS TO PROTECT MAN.”STEWART UDALL
Snowberry is aptly named because of its importance to wildlife in the wintertime. The cold of winter is upon us and there are bare branches where once there was a mass of greenery. And yet there are animals out in the snow that need to continue eating. What plants support our wildlife during these cold months of scarcity? Snowberry is one of those very important winter plants for providing food and shelter to deer, elk, birds and small mammals. Wild populations of deer are heavily dependant on shrubs and trees both for food and shelter in the winter. Feed quality for deer needs to be excellent from summer until December to ensure a good fawning rate.
When the snow becomes deeper than three inches, deer switch from grasses, herbaceous flowering plants and alfalfa to browse from shrubs and trees for their winter feed. One of the preferred browse species in western Canada is snowberry. Aspen and prickly rose, chokecherry, saskatoon, dogwood, buffaloberry and willow are also important for winter browsing food for deer.
Snowberry is a native North American shrub in the honeysuckle family. It grows 3 to 6 feet high
Although it can grow by seed, it mostly reproduces by sending shoots from a rhizome and because of this property, it can form a dense thicket. Generally it grows in moist forested lands, woodlands and riversides and it tolerates some shade.
The Snowberry plant is very important for food and cover for small mammals and birds. Pocket gophers dig burrows underneath this plant during winter. It is an important food in winter for deer and elk. Overwintering birds like grouse rely on this plant for a good percentage of their food during the winter. Many moths and butterflies lay eggs on the leaves of this plant…there is even a moth named after it, the Snowberry Clearwing Moth. Bees and hummingbirds drink its nectar
First Nations people used its berries as a soap because of their high content of saponins. The saponins are responsible for the toxicity of the berries which is reported to be only a problem if many kilograms of berries were ingested. Some First nations used the berries in a large quantity in the water to stupefy fish to harvest them. First Nations peoples had many medicinal uses for this plant,
The extensive root system of this plant means it can be useful for preventing soil erosion and it has been used to stabilize banks and slopes.
Winter is a difficult time for animals in our frigid climate. Trees and shrubs are of special importance during the winter season. Species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. Understanding the critical value of winter plants like snowberry to the wildlife populations and allowing them to grow, especially in woodland settings, helps ensure the lives of many types of incredible wildlife.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphoricarpos_albus
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Symphoricarpos+albus
By H. Zell (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Snowberry(Symphoricarpos albus)
“PLANS TO PROTECT AIR AND WATER, WILDERNESS AND WILDLIFE ARE IN FACT PLANS TO PROTECT MAN.”STEWART UDALL
Snowberry is aptly named because of its importance to wildlife in the wintertime. The cold of winter is upon us and there are bare branches where once there was a mass of greenery. And yet there are animals out in the snow that need to continue eating. What plants support our wildlife during these cold months of scarcity? Snowberry is one of those very important winter plants for providing food and shelter to deer, elk, birds and small mammals. Wild populations of deer are heavily dependant on shrubs and trees both for food and shelter in the winter. Feed quality for deer needs to be excellent from summer until December to ensure a good fawning rate.
When the snow becomes deeper than three inches, deer switch from grasses, herbaceous flowering plants and alfalfa to browse from shrubs and trees for their winter feed. One of the preferred browse species in western Canada is snowberry. Aspen and prickly rose, chokecherry, saskatoon, dogwood, buffaloberry and willow are also important for winter browsing food for deer.
Snowberry is a native North American shrub in the honeysuckle family. It grows 3 to 6 feet high
Although it can grow by seed, it mostly reproduces by sending shoots from a rhizome and because of this property, it can form a dense thicket. Generally it grows in moist forested lands, woodlands and riversides and it tolerates some shade.
The Snowberry plant is very important for food and cover for small mammals and birds. Pocket gophers dig burrows underneath this plant during winter. It is an important food in winter for deer and elk. Overwintering birds like grouse rely on this plant for a good percentage of their food during the winter. Many moths and butterflies lay eggs on the leaves of this plant…there is even a moth named after it, the Snowberry Clearwing Moth. Bees and hummingbirds drink its nectar
First Nations people used its berries as a soap because of their high content of saponins. The saponins are responsible for the toxicity of the berries which is reported to be only a problem if many kilograms of berries were ingested. Some First nations used the berries in a large quantity in the water to stupefy fish to harvest them. First Nations peoples had many medicinal uses for this plant,
The extensive root system of this plant means it can be useful for preventing soil erosion and it has been used to stabilize banks and slopes.
Winter is a difficult time for animals in our frigid climate. Trees and shrubs are of special importance during the winter season. Species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. Understanding the critical value of winter plants like snowberry to the wildlife populations and allowing them to grow, especially in woodland settings, helps ensure the lives of many types of incredible wildlife.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphoricarpos_albus
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Symphoricarpos+albus
