Audubon® Native Snowberry

Plump, frosty-white fruits spangle the branches of Snowberry in fall and winter, making a pretty picture in your landscape. Pretty, too, are the robins and other thrushes, Cedar Waxwings, and grosbeaks that bob among the branches, snacking on the berries. In rural areas, the fruits are consumed by turkeys, grouse, pheasants, Bobwhite Quail, and prairie chickens. Grizzly bears like them as well, so be warned! Snowberry is a low, spreading Accent that’s perfect for covering ground and filling spaces in sun or part shade. Its dense, twiggy growth makes welcoming habitat for ground-dwelling birds and other small animals.

Snowberry is a cool climate–loving Accent that’s native to Canada from Coast to Coast. In the U.S., its range dips down into New England, the Upper Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and along the West Coast. This wildlife-friendly plant nourishes many pollinators with its summer blooms, including hummingbirds, butterflies, hoverflies, bumblebees, mason bees, green metallic bees, and leafcutter bees. Snowberry also feeds a variety of insects with its foliage. The Snowberry clearwing moth is one special insect that rears its young on the leaves. Just a bit bigger than a bumblebee, it hovers and maneuvers like a hummingbird as it sips from garden flowers.

Another bizarre insect that feeds on Snowberry is the Harris’s three-spot moth. Perhaps our ugliest caterpillar, it looks like a bit of garbage in its youth. When it molts, this weirdo saves its head casings and carries them around on a tuft of hair. Eventually, the ugly duckling turns into a beautifully patterned moth!