Common Snowberry vs Water Arum - TreeTime.ca

Common Snowberry vs Water Arum

Symphoricarpos albus

Calla palustris

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Common Snowberry
Water Arum

Common Snowberry is a small deciduous shrub with characteristic white to pink flowers and clusters of white fruit.

This North American native species is very adaptable, and can be used for erosion control in riparian and restoration areas. Snowberry's fruit attracts wildlife, and livestock can consume the berries without issue.

Water Arum is a native perennial wetland plant known for its showy white oval sheaths (spathe) that surround a yellow-green, cylindrical flower spike (spadix). It has large, oblong, heart-shaped leaves on stems that rise above the water from shallow, spreading rhizomes. The blossoms are followed in late summer by tiny, pear-shaped fruits that ripen to bright red, adding ornamental interest to wet habitats.

Water Arum provides food for birds and small mammals that eat its berries, and its flowers attract pollinators. It can tolerate cold climates and forms colonies in shallow water and saturated soils. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, riparian planting, naturalisation, and habitat projects in wet and shaded environments.

Common Snowberry Quick Facts

Water Arum Quick Facts

Zone: 1a
Zone: 1b
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Height: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: colony-forming
Spreading: rhizomes - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: none

Toxicity: berries toxic to humans

Toxicity: toxic if ingested
Bark: red-brown shredded bark
Flowers: pink to white flowers in spring
Flowers: white sheath around and yellow spike
Bloom time: spring to summer
Berries: white waxy berries
Berries: red, in clusters
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NT
Native to: AB, BC, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, YT, NT, PE
Other Names: common snowberry
Other Names: bog arum, swamp lily, wild calla, wild dragon