The Native Coralberry and an Unwanted Lookalike

Every plant has its peak season of both ornamental and ecological interest. With so many plants in full fall color right now, it is hard to consider another ornamental attribute. However, coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) is a native shrub with a spectacular display of berries that mature in coincidence with fall colors each October. Its coral-pink to almost purplish berries are an attractive ornamental aspect that provides winter forage for birds.

Coralberry is a smaller shrub, maturing to a mere 5 feet but often much shorter. However, it certainly loves to spread out, reaching a width much wider than its height that often approaches 8 feet or more as a single specimen. Beyond birds, this plant supports a host of mammals, and is a favorite for white-tailed deer, which inspired its alternative common name, buckbrush. Although inconspicuous, its spring flowers support a plethora of bees, wasps and flies with nectar and pollen. It is also a known host plant for caterpillars of three native moths—snowberry clearwing (Hemaris diffinis), hummingbird clearwing (Hemaris thysbe) and sulfur moth (Hesperumia sulphuraria).

A Not-So-Nice Lookalike

In nature, coralberry exists as an understory shrub and is known to form dense colonies, often dominating the forest floor vegetation on sites with its preferred conditions. Its leaves and berries are surprisingly similar to another plant that tends to unwantedly dominate forest understories in Illinois, the notorious bush honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.).

Coralberry vs. Bush Honeysuckle

Given its shade tolerance and uncanny ability to spread, bush honeysuckle remains one of the biggest threats to native plant diversity in forests across Illinois. Its bright red berries mature in late fall and occur at an identical location on the stem as coralberry, in small clusters at leaf nodes. Foliage on both plants is oppositely arranged with similarly size, simple leaves that have a smooth, untoothed leaf edge. No wonder that coralberry can be confused with the highly detrimental invasive, bush honeysuckle.

Where the plants differ is a finer line. Although coralberry’s fruits are not nearly as red or juicy as those on bush honeysuckle, it can be difficult to discern the fruits without side-by-side comparison. The primary difference between the two plants is their growth habit: bush honeysuckle has a distinctive, arching branch form that coralberry does not. Also, coralberry is typically a short shrub, especially in heavily shaded woodlands. It can, however, be mistaken for younger bush honeysuckle plants that simply have not matured. I find that coralberry has much thinner twigs, almost as thin as its leaf stalks, whereas bush honeysuckle has much wider stems that often get much thicker at maturity. Coralberry never seems to achieve much diameter, even on mature stems and even in well-established patches.

The best identification feature for both plants is based on phenology, or timing, of fall leaf drop. In the coming weeks, as the native, deciduous plants, such as coralberry, drop their leaves, honeysuckle will retain green leaves for at least two weeks longer than other plants. In late autumn woodlands, bush honeysuckle is unmistakable as its green leaves hang on while all else is bare.

Over the years, I have run across quite a few instances where good-intentioned plant stewards have mistakenly removed coralberry thinking they were eradicating honeysuckle. Given its typical niche in the forest and its propensity to form competitive, dense thickets, coralberry is actually a good replacement for bush honeysuckle. Coralberry can compete with the continued pressure from new honeysuckle seedlings to hold its place in the forest. Care should always taken to ensure a good stock of tree seedlings remain in the forest understory, but coralberry is a great plant to establish in forest edge habits and other areas that new honeysuckle plants tend to invade.

Coralberry as a Landscape Plant

In the home landscape, this native shrub works well in areas where it can persist as a colony. I have seen it in spectacular form as an informal hedge, working well to define distinctly different spaces while its shorter stature allows for longer views into adjacent areas. As mentioned above, it works wonderfully as a woodland edge species, or in other competitive situations with considerable plant pressure from other species.

Coralberry can handle a wide range of environmental conditions, from full sun to full shade and it tolerates poor soils well, making it a great plant for problem areas where erosion or other disturbances have lowered site quality.

For information on developing native landscapes, visit CICADA (Conservation Inclusive Construction and Development Archive).

Finding Coralberry

If you are interested in seeing coralberry in nature, it is occasional to locally common in the southern half of Illinois, becoming less common or absent in the northern half of the state. Look for this native shrub in thin rocky woodlands, woodland borders and openings, such as along woodland paths and powerline clearances.

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Ryan Pankau has more than two decades of experience as a forester and arborist, building his lifelong love of trees into the career he enjoys today. Beyond trees, he has also focused on integrating the concepts of ecology into the management of plants in the built environment to create more resilient landscapes that better support the native flora and fauna of Illinois. He is currently a Horticulture Educator for University of Illinois Extension serving Champaign, Ford, Iroquois and Vermilion counties.