Symphoricarpus orbiculatus Moench, coralberry, Indian currant, buckbrush. Shrub, evergreen, clonal forming monospecific patches via creeping stems rooting at nodes, in range to 100 cm tall; shoots often 2–dimensional (plagiotropic, especially in shady habitat) or not, uniformly short–hairy.
Stems ± cylindric, to 2 mm diameter, often reddish, short–hairy, older stem with strips of red–brown periderm.
Leaves opposite decussate, simple, petiolate, without stipules; petiole 1—3 mm long; blade roundish,12—32 × 10—32 mm, roundish at base, entire and somewhat wavy on margins, rounded at tip, pinnately veined with principal veins somewhat sunken on the upper surface and raised on lower surface, uniformly short–hairy.
Inflorescence condensed spike, axillary and mostly paired at nodes, nodding with a strongly recurved peduncle, 10+–flowered, with opposite decussate pairs of flowers, bracteate, short–hairy; peduncle 2—2.5 mm long, expanded below flowrs, with bud scales at base, bud scales toothed and short–ciliate; rachis, 4–sided, at anthesis internode < 0.8 mm long, short–hairy; bractlets 2 per node, narrowly fused across node, appearing deltate, 1 mm, fleshy green with thinner, reddish margins, sometimes ± keeled; bracteoles 2, free at base on upper side of flower, appressed, keeled, ovate, ± 1.2 mm long, green but often reddish above midpoint, sparsely puberulent and short–ciliate.
Flower bisexual, radial, 3 mm across; calyx 5–lobed, 1 mm long; tube cylindric, 0.5 × 0.8 mm, green, somewhat beaded, glabrous; lobes subequal, deltate to ovate, 0.5 mm long, with broad sinuses, green with colorless, minutely ciliate margins; corolla 5–lobed, ± 4 mm long, pale green or blushed red, outer surface glabrous, inner surface white–villous from base of stamens to lobes; tube bell–shape; lobes overlapping, ascending, rounded, 1.2—1.4 × 1.2—1.5 mm (1 lobe wider); stamens 5, fused to corolla attached just below sinuses; filament 1.2—1.3 mm long, white, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ± 0.9 mm long, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen white; nectary disc a rim around base of style, producing nectar on top of ovary; pistil 1, 4 mm long; ovary inferior, subspheroid, ± 1.3 × 1 mm, green, glabrous, 4–chambered, 2 chambered with 1 large ovule each, 2 chambers with numerous small ovules; style straight, ca. 2 mm long, greenish and glabrous to midpoint, white and villous above midpoint; stigma capitate, unequally lobed, ca. 0.5 mm across, > style, green.
Fruit berry, spheric, 4—4.5 mm, reddish purple; seeds only in 2 opposite chambers.
Seed hemi–ellipsoid, ca. 3 × 2 × 1.2 mm, dull cream. A. C. GIbson