Caprifoliaceæ. Honeysuckle Family
Viburnum Lentago, L.
Sheep Berry. Sweet Viburnum. Nanny Plum
Habitat and Range.—Rich woods, thickets, river valleys, along fences.
Province of Quebec to Saskatchewan.
Frequent throughout New England.
South along the mountains to Georgia and Kentucky; west to Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Habit.—A shrub or small tree, 10-25 feet in height with numerous branches forming a wide-spreading, compact rounded head; conspicuous by rich foliage, profuse, fragrant yellowish-white flowers, and long, drooping clusters of crimson fruit which deepen to a rich purple when fully ripe.
Bark.—Trunk and larger branches dark purplish or reddish brown, separating in old trees into small, firm sections; branchlets grayish-brown; season’s shoots reddish-brown, dotted, more or less scurfy.
Winter Buds and Leaves.—Leaf-buds long, narrow, covered with scurfy, brown, leaf-like scales; flower-buds much longer, swollen at the base, with two leaf-like scales extended into a long, spire-like point. Leaves simple, opposite, 2-4 inches long, upper surface bright green, lower paler and set with rusty scales, ovate to oblong-ovate or orbicular, sharply and finely serrate, smooth, tapered or abruptly pointed; base acute to rounded or truncate; stem slender, wavy-margined, channeled above; stipules none.
Inflorescence.—May or early June. Terminal, in broad, flat-topped, compound, sessile cymes; calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, 5-toothed; corolla white, salver-shaped, segments 5, oval, reflexed; stamens 5, projecting, anthers yellow; pistil truncate.
Fruit.—Profuse, in clusters; drupes ½ inch long, oval, crimson when ripening, deep purple when fully ripe, edible, sweet: stone flat, oval, rough, obscurely striate lengthwise.
Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich soil in open places or in light shade. Its showy flowers, healthy foliage, and vigorous growth make it a desirable plant for high shrub plantations, and as an undergrowth in open woods. Offered for sale by collectors and occasionally by nurserymen; easily transplanted; propagated from seed or from cuttings.
1. Winter buds.
2. Flowering branch.
3. Flower.
4. Flower, side view.
5. Flower with petals and stamens removed.
6. Fruiting branch.