This is a low-growing,
spreading shrub, with firm oval or oblong tapering leaves, dull
above, and pale, sometimes even hoary, underneath.
CREEPING SNOWBERRY
(Chiogenes hispidula) Huckleberry family
Flowers - Very small, white, few, solitary, nodding on short,
curved peduncles from the leaf axils. Calyx 2-bracted, 4-cleft;
corolla a short 4-cleft bell; 8 short stamens, each anther sac
opening by a slit to the middle; 1 pistil, the ovary 4-celled.
Stem: Creeping along the ground, the slender, leafy, hairy
branches 3 to 12 in. long. Leaves: Evergreen, alternate,
2-ranked, oval, very small, dark and glossy above, coated with
stiff, rusty hairs underneath, the edges curled. Fruit: A
snow-white, round or oval, mealy, aromatic berry; ripe
August-September.
Preferred Habitat - Cool bogs; low, moist, mossy woods.
Flowering Season - May-June.
Distribution - North Carolina and Michigan northward to the
British Possessions.
Allied on the one hand to the cranberry, so often found with it
in the cool northern peat bogs, and on the other to the delicious
blueberries, this "snow-born" berry, which appears on no dining
table, nevertheless furnishes many a good meal to hungry birds
and fagged pedestrians.
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