albus – white (Latin), in reference to fruit color

Native range: Western North America

Leaves:

• opposite
• simple
• elliptic to oval 3/4–2” (2–5 cm.) long
• entire margins
• leaves on young, fast-growing shoots tend to be lobed
• margins smooth to wavy-toothed

Flowers:

• inflorescence – short, dense terminal cluster or a few flowers
• pink to white
• small bell-shaped
• 5–7 mm. long
• 5 sepals
• 5 petals
• 5 stamens
• 1 style

Fruit:

• clusters
• 2-seed berry-like drupes
• persistent through the winter

Other characteristics:

• deciduous shrub
• 2–6 ft. tall (tallest in riparian areas)
• densely branched
• erect, thin branches
• twigs delicate and brown

Relevant info:

• sensitive to trampling and soil compaction
• berries are poisonous to humans, causing vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and in severe cases, unconsciousness
• in PNW, also known as S. albus var. laevigatus (from Latin for “to make smooth, slippery”)
  • plants of this variety are taller and the fruits are larger than var. albus

Ecology & Adaptations:

• native for, Alaska to California, east to Wyoming.
• widely distributed throughout Washington
• found in dry to moist, open forests, thickets, rocky slopes, river terraces, ravines, along beaches (Alaska and Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands)
• low to middle elevations in the mountains
• pollination:
  • by bees
  • also self-compatible (i.e., plant can successfully fertilize itself)
• seed dispersal:
  • fruit attract birds and small mammals that aid in dispersal
  • fruit often remains on shrubs through winter
• vegetative reproduction – spreads by rhizomes
• fire resistance – survives fire of low to moderate and even highest intensity by sprouting from underground rhizomes after top of the plant is killed
• herbivore defense – contains alkaloids that inhibit growth of insects
• competition – tissues contain allelopathic compounds released to the environment that prevent other species from establishing in the same area
• tolerant of dry, low nutrient conditions – associations with mycorrhizae aid absorption of water and nutrients