snowberry, Symphoricarpos albus

Snowberry comes in two varieties. The western one is a robust shrub with lots of flowers and fruit. The eastern one is more modest, with fewer flowers and white berries. Western ones were formerly a popular landscape shrub. They may have fallen into disfavor because the berries are poisonous. Snowberry was used by Native Americans to treat just about any ailment you could think of. They sometimes called it ghostberry, and kept it around infants to keep ghosts away. Preventive medicine! The eastern variety is present on Maxton Plains, and is well adapted to extreme habitats. Well adapted, but small. This is a belly image, because I had to be prone to get the shot. Snowberry grows in AK, CA, CO, CT, DE, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY, AB, BC, MB, NB, NF, NS, NT, ON, PE, QC, and SK. Chippewa Co MI, 6/20/21. Honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae.