Symphoricarpos mollis, with the common names creeping snowberry, Southern California snowberry, and trip vine, is a shrub in the honeysuckle family.Flowering Plans of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale, 2nd. Ed, 2000, p. 91
Description The plant is a creeping shrub, low growing and straggling, with stems that can reach several feet while the height limited to about . It reproduces both from via rhizome and seed.
Leaves are opposite. Stems are flexible.
It bears bunches of red or pink rounded, bell-shaped flowers and spherical or bulbous white or pink-tinted fruits measuring about .
Distribution and habitat The shrub is found in western North America from British Columbia to California inland to Nevada and Idaho.Calflora taxon report, University of California, Symphoricarpos mollis Nutt. Trailing Snowberry, creeping snowberry, snowberry Jones, George Neville 1940. A monograph of the genus Symphoricarpos. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 21(2): 201-252
It does well in warm climates and can tolerate both intense sun and constant shade. It is a plant of chaparral ecosystems, especially along coastlines.
Edibility The fruits are inedible. While not generally considered toxic, they are distasteful, having a soapy texture due to the presence of saponins.
References
External links Jepson Manual Treatment, University of California United States Department of Agriculture National Forest Service, Fire ecology Calphotos Photo gallery, University of California