Are Snowberries Edible?

There are so many different edible plants found by hikers in the woods. At the same time, there are plants poisonous to the touch or toxic when eaten. When it comes to berries, people need to take extra steps of caution. With 14 different species of snowberries growing wild across North America, many want to know if the beautiful white berries are edible and if they have other uses.

Are Snowberries Edible?

Snowberry plants are mildly poisonous to human beings. They are not edible plants. The fruit of the snowberry bush is high in saponins. This toxic compound is mildly toxic. They also contain traces of chelidonine, which isn’t safe for humans to eat. When ingested, some of the first symptoms humans and most pets will experience are dizziness and stomach problems.

While the fruit of the snowberry bush is not edible for human beings, birds and small mammals like squirrels and gophers happily eat the berries regularly.

What Saponins Are

Traces of chelidonine and saponins are the cause of the toxicity of the berries. Saponins are a toxic compound. When shaken up with water, they create a foam. For this reason, snowberries were used to make shampoos and soaps in the past by Native Americans. Today, saponins are still found in low levels in many products like shampoos and cosmetics.

What About Creeping Snowberries?

There are 15 species of snowberries in the world. 14 of those are found in North America and Central America. While the common snowberry is not edible and is poisonous to humans, the creeping snowberry (gaultheria hispidula) is the exception. This rare snowberry plant is found in Pennsylvania. Creeping snowberries smell of wintergreen when bruised and have a spectacular wintergreen flavor when eaten, similar to the related wintergreen plant (gaultheria procumbens) . The white berries have been said to taste like a wet Tic-Tac.

Since most species of snowberries are poisonous to humans, it’s very important that you are confident you are looking at a rare creeping snowberry before tasting one. With berries in general, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

What Common Snowberries Look Like

Common Snowberries (symphoricarpos albus) are deciduous bushes that can be from three feet tall all the way up to nine feet. Their white and pink flowers are small, typically less than half an inch around, with similarly sized oval leaves growing on sterile shoots. In mid-summer, when so many plants are blooming, snowberry plants don’t stand out as much as anything special. They aren’t as dense as blackberry bushes. The flowers aren’t remarkable enough to take over Instagram, at least in the summer months. It’s in the winter when snowberries really start to shine.

The white bells first appear in the spring and last all the way through the late summer. In autumn, the white berry-like drupes appear and last even when the oval leaves have turned and fallen free of the plants. The white fruits stand out in the winter months when so many other plants have gone dormant. On a rocky slope with drifts of snow, hikers may notice the snowberry plant with its pretty white snowberry fruits still in season. While birds will mostly ignore snowberries in late summer or autumn, they will rely on these fruits in the late summer when other food sources become scarce.

Where Snowberries Like To Grow

Snowberry bushes can be found on the west coast of the United States, all the way from southeast Alaska down to southern California. These native plants also grow across the northern United States and into Canada. The 15 different species of snowberry grow in varying conditions. They can be found in full shade, partial shade, or full sun. The deciduous shrub happily grows in thick clay and poor soils. One of the best things conservationists have discovered about snowberries is that because the vigorous roots are so adaptable to poor soils and varying light levels, they can be used for erosion control, stabilizing the soil when planted on slopes, or in mine reclamation projects.

Fascinatingly, wild snowberry plants have been to keep growing for more than 40 years.

How Native Americans Historically Used Snowberries

Snowberries are more than just a pretty plant that hikers should avoid eating. These poisonous wild berries also have a rich history in the cultures of many Native American peoples. While it was known that snowberries shouldn’t be eaten, they found many other fascinating uses for snowberries.

Over time, Native American tribes discovered a variety of medicinal uses. It was found that an infusion of the root could be used to treat fevers, colds, and stomach aches. This was particularly interesting since eating the berries can cause stomach troubles. More commonly, snowberries were crushed up and made into a cream that could be used topically to treat rashes, sores, and other skin conditions. Fascinatingly, the snowberry fruits could also be used to create an eyewash for sore eyes.

Many of the species of snowberry plants have a distinct wintergreen scent. Many used this to their advantage by turning the snowberries into an antiperspirant. The berry could also be mixed with water and made into soaps and shampoos.

While the medicinal uses of the snowberry plant are certainly interesting, it was hunting tribes that came up with the most surprising use for the common snowberry.

Snowberries are poisonous to human beings and many other animals, including fish. Native Americans discovered that they could gather a lot of snowberries and release them into streams full of fish. The fish were attracted to the toxic berries, ate them, died, and then floated up to the surface where they could be easily collected.

Snowberries Are A Beautiful Plant To Be Approached With Caution

While small mammals may use snowberry plants as a safe home for nesting under, and birds enjoy eating the berries, humans would do their best to be cautious of the white fruits. While they’re only mildly toxic in adult humans, the white berries are still much better as a pretty sight in the dead of winter than something to risk toxic effects from.

Because of their vigorous roots proving useful for plant erosion, some homeowners have taken to growing snowberries on slopes in their yards. However, if you have children or pets, be sure to be cautious with the white fruits.