Blackhaw Viburnam

Blackhaw Viburnam

Viburnum prunifolium

Honeysuckle Family (Capifoliaceae)

▲ ▼ flowering plants in spring

▲ flowering shrub/small tree at Missouri Botanic Garden

▲ foliage

▲ upper plant is top of mature shrub

Location near campus: wild specimens can be found in the wooded area north of South Creek at the west side of McDaniel Park (at the corner of Sunset and National Avenue)

Viburnum prunifolium: Blackhaw Viburnum

• leaves opposite, simple, deciduous, ovate to rounded, 1-3" long and 1-2" wide with slightly cuneate to serrate margins; shiny dark green above and pale green below; not pubescent; fall color often bright red
• stems glabrous, short & stiff and gray-brown in color
• size is to 20' tall and about 2/3 as wide, often smaller in cultivation
• flowers are white in terminal flat-topped clusters (cymes) and fruit is a pinkish to black drupe which ripens in early fall
• grows well in sun or shade; prefers dryer soils
• slow to medium growth rate
• native to Missouri
• another native viburnum-- Southern Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum rufidulum) has more leathery leaves and buds are covered with dark rusty-red hairs