Viburnum trilobum
Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Viburnum opulus ssp. americanum
- Viburnum opulus ssp. trilobum
- Viburnum opulus var. americanum
- Viburnum opulus var. trilobum
- Phonetic Spelling
- vy-BUR-num try-LO-bum
- Description
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American Viburnum is a shrub found in wet woods, along streams, and on moist wooded hillsides of northern USA and Canada. It is not native to NC and will not like hot humid summers though it may grow in the cooler mountain areas. The shrub will reach 8-12 feet tall and wide with erect spreading and arching stems. The clusters of white flowers appear in spring and are followed by edible red drupes that resemble cranberries and mature in Aug-Sept.
This shrub has hybridized with the European Viburnum opulus and has escaped cultivation and become weedy in some areas which may result in the gradual degradation or loss of the native genotype. The best way to tell them apart is by the petiolar glands at the base of the leaf. The native ones are variously described as convex (bulging outward), club-shaped, or columnar. Also, the fruit of the native plant is edible, and that of the European variety is not.
American Viburnum prefers wet to moist well-drained soils in full sun to partial shade. It is tolerant of various soil types and is easy to grow. Give it some compost or fertilizer in the spring for best blooming and fruiting. Use as an ornamental shrub for the flowers and fall interest of the fruits in hedges, foundation plantings or as a specimen. It will do well along the margins of ponds and streams.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Generally free from insect and disease damage in cultivation but bacterial leaf spot, powdery mildew, shoot blight, tarnished plant bugs, stem borers, and thrips will occasionally be a problem.
The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common pests and diseases.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Cultivars / Varieties:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Viburnum
- Species:
- trilobum
- Family:
- Viburnaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Used medicinally as an antispasmodic, for relief of menstrual and stomach cramps and asthma.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Division
- Grafting
- Layering
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- North America
- Distribution:
- CT , IA , ID , IL , IN , KY , MA , ME , MI , MN , MO , MT , ND , NE , NH , NJ , NY , OH , PA , RI , SD , VT , WA , WI , WV , WY Canada: AB , BC , MB , NB , NS , PE , QC , SK
- Wildlife Value:
- Fruits are eaten deer, moose, foxes, raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels, skunks, mice, rabbits, grouse, pheasants, robins, cedar waxwings, and other songbirds. They are not normally eaten by birds until after they have frozen and thawed several times.
- Play Value:
- Wildlife Food Source
- Edibility:
- Fruits are edible and used in used in sauces, jellies, and juices.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Perennial
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Arching
- Erect
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- 6-feet-12 feet
- 12-24 feet
- NC Region:
- Mountains
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Edible
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Fruit is a berry-like rounded drupe, bright red with a single seed and strongly flattened. Matures Aug.-Sept.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Cyme
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Star
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Flowers are white, in flat-topped clusters 2.5-4 inches broad, with flowers of two different types. Outer ring flowers are sterile and showy. The inner flowers much smaller, fertile, with yellow anthers. Blooms May-July
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Opposite
- Leaf Shape:
- Ovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 3-6 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Opposite leaves are ovate, 2-4.5 inches long, 3 deep lobes with pointed tips and the middle lobe sometimes elongated. Margins coarsely toothed. 1 to 6 small glands, on short stalks, near the base of the blade on the grooved reddish-brown stalk. Dark green above, soft hairs on veins below. Fall color is yellow-red or reddish-purple.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Scaly
- Bark Description:
- Older bark is gray to gray-brown, thin, and smooth to scaly.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gray/Silver
- Green
- Red/Burgundy
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Lenticels:
- Conspicuous
- Stem Surface:
- Smooth (glabrous)
- Stem Description:
- Green to reddish new twigs are mostly hairless with raised lenticels, turning tan to grayish brown.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Naturalized Area
- Pond
- Riparian
- Landscape Theme:
- Edible Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Design Feature:
- Foundation Planting
- Hedge
- Small groups
- Attracts:
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
