Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
coralberry [Blooms: Aug-?]
Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) flowers and fruit. Bottom right: lateral view of a coralberry flower. Note that the stamens with their white anther extend to the lip of the corolla. Top right: three-quarters view of a coralberry flower. The anthers of four of the five stamens are visible near the boundary of the flower; white hairs extend from the central style towards the petals. The granular green structure in the middle of the flower is the stigma. Left: a coralberry stem with a profusion of mature reddish-purple coralberries.
Some of coralberry’s leaf axils produce dense cluster of greenish, sessile flowers. Individual flowers are 1/4″ long consisting of a short green calyx with five teeth and slightly swollen basally; a stubby, tubular corolla with five bluntly-rounded lobes; five stamens with white anthers; and a pale green ovary with a hairy style. The anthers barely extend to the edge of the corolla lobes; the stigma is inset slightly deeper. The fruit is a single globoid berry containing two seeds, 1/4″ long and reddish-purple when mature.
Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) stems and leaves. Bottom: the upper surface (left image) of a single coralberry leaf and the underside of the same leaf (right image). Top: a coralberry stem showing the upper surface of the opposite leaves (left image) and the underside of the same stem and leaves (right image).
Coralberry is a mound-shaped, dense shrub 2-5 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide with arching stems; it is native to North America but an exotic in Illinois. It spreads by runners and can form dense stands and hedges. Young twigs are reddish brown and hairy. Upper and middle branches are reddish purple to brown and variably hairy; the trunk and lower branches are woody with brown bark. The leaves are oval, up to 2″ long and 1.25″ wide, with smooth margins and a short (1/4″) petiole. The upper surface of the leaf is medium green while the underside is a whitish green; both are variably hairy.
A coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) shrub growing on the southeast corner of Wooded Island. On the lower right is an enlarged image of mature fruit; on the upper right is an even-more-enlarged image of a flower and several green calyxes, the remnants of fertilized flowers that will develop into mature fruit.
Coralberry is a mound-shaped, dense shrub 2-5 feet tall and 3-6 feet wide with arching stems; it is native to North America but an exotic in Illinois. It spreads by runners and can form dense stands and hedges. Young twigs are reddish brown and hairy. Upper and middle branches are reddish purple to brown and variably hairy; the trunk and lower branches are woody with brown bark. The leaves are oval, up to 2″ long and 1.25″ wide, with smooth margins and a short (1/4″) petiole. The upper surface of the leaf is medium green while the underside is a whitish green; both are variably hairy. Some of the leaf axils produce dense cluster of greenish, sessile flowers. Individual flowers are 1/4″ long consisting of a short green calyx with five teeth and slightly swollen basally; a stubby, tubular corolla with five bluntly-rounded lobes; five stamens with white anthers; and a pale green ovary with a hairy style. The anthers barely extend to the edge of the corolla lobes; the stigma is inset slightly deeper. The fruit is a single globoid berry containing two seeds, 1/4″ long and reddish-purple when mature.
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![Evening primrose — clusters of yellow flowers occur at the apex of the plant. The flowers are 1-2" across, with four 1/2-1" long green sepals strongly reflected over a long (3/4-2"), green, cylindrical floral tube (the ovary is located just above the leaf axil), four heart-shaped yellow petals, eight stamens, and a single style with an X-shaped stigma. The sepals typically remain connected (in pairs) along one edge until the flower opens. The seedpods develop within the ovary (the base of the elongate floral tube); they are hairy, urn-shaped with rounded edges, and have four or eight small lobes on the apex. The seeds are claimed to remain viable in the soil for up to 70 years. The flowers open at dusk and close early in the day. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_biennis-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Northern evening primrose flowers are 3/4-1.5" across, have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; the stamens are as long or longer than the petals and the stigma is nearly fills the floral opening. At the base of the flower are four sepals 1/2-1" long, that bend back along the 3/4-1.5" long floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. Only northern evening primrose with a distinct ridge or knob near the tips of the sepals. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is 3/4-1.5" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four robust, flaring lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals and is the only one of the three evening primroses to (sometimes) have reddish color on some or all of the midvein of the leaves. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_parviflora-1t-300x300.jpg)
![Hairy evening primrose produves an elongating spike of flowers arises from the apex of the stem; flowers bloom near the tip while older flowers and seed capsules develop below. Individual flowers are 3/4-1.5" across; they sit on a long floral tube with the ovary at its base (attached to a leaf axil). The flowers have four yellow, heart-shaped petals, eight yellow stamens, and a cross-shaped stigma on a modest style; at the base of the flower are four sepals 3/8-3/4" long, reflected back along the floral tube as the flower develops with pairs of sepals attached along one edge until the flower opens. The sepals are often red-striped or red-tinged. Note the long, hairy floral tube below the sepals, the reddish stem, and glandular hairs with red bases on the ovary. The seed capsule develops from the ovary; it is up to 1.75" long, cylindrical but tapering slightly towards the tip, with four tiny lobes at the tip. — — — There are (at least) three evening primroses in Jackson Park — common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), northern evening primrose (Oenothera parviflora), and hairy evening primrose (Oenothera villosa). They are easily confused with each other. (Judging by the conflicts between the accounts on Illinois Wildflowers [https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/], Minnesota Wildflowers [https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/], and Missouri Plants [http://www.missouriplants.com/], even the experts are confused.) All three species have yellow flowers with an X-shaped stigma, reflected sepals, petals with a small notch in their apex, stems that may be red or green, and lance-shaped leaves with short, widely-spaced teeth. Northern evening primrose is distinguished by (1) the presence of a knob or ridge at the tip of each sepal which the other two species lack (2) a seed capsule with four robust, flaring lobes with rounded tips at the apex of the seed capsule, and (3) a stigma that is very robust and almost fills the opening of the flower. Northern evening primrose has green to yellowish-green sepals. Hairy evening primrose (often but not always) has (1) striped or reddish-tinged sepals (check the buds where this character is often easier to see), (2) flowers that turn orange as they begin to senesce (although the reliability of this character is uncertain), and (3) always has glandular hairs covering the ovary that have "pimple-like" bright-red bases; these red pimples may also occur on the stems. All three species are somewhat similar to prairie sundrop (O. pilosella); the latter has very hairy stems and leaves, and translucent lines that radiate from the base of the petals in the flowers.](https://jacksonparkwildflowers.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oenothera_villosa-1t-300x300.jpg)
