Snowberry Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Snowberry

Scientific classification
Genus:	Gaultheria
Species:	antipoda

The Gaultheria antipoda, often called snowberry or fools beech, is a type of shrub. It belongs to the plant family Ericaceae. This plant is special because it is endemic to New Zealand. This means it naturally grows only in New Zealand and nowhere else in the world!

What Does Snowberry Look Like?
- Leaves and Flowers
- How Snowberry Reproduces
Where Does Snowberry Grow?
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What Does Snowberry Look Like?

The snowberry plant is a shrub that can grow either straight up or spread out. It usually reaches a height of about 1 to 2 meters (3 to 6.5 feet).

Leaves and Flowers

Its leaves are small, about 5 to 15 millimeters (0.2 to 0.6 inches) long. They feel a bit like leather and have a shiny surface. The edges of the leaves have tiny, saw-like teeth, which are called serrations.

The snowberry plant blooms with flowers around November. After the flowers, it grows small berries. These berries can be white or red. You can see them in late summer and autumn.

How Snowberry Reproduces

Some plants have separate male and female plants, but the snowberry is different. Each snowberry plant has both male and female parts. This means one plant can produce both pollen (the male part) and seeds (the female part). This helps the plant make new seeds easily.

Where Does Snowberry Grow?

You can find the snowberry plant in the North Island of New Zealand. It grows in areas between 37° and 39°30' South latitude. It likes to live in scrub habitats, which are areas with lots of small trees and bushes. You will often see it on cliffs and in rocky places, from lowlands up to subalpine areas (places just below the tree line in mountains).