854 



The Viburnums 



I. WITHE ROD Viburnum cassinoides Linnaeus 



The Appalachian tea, as it is also called, is usually a shrub, but sometimes 

 becomes a tree 5 meters high; as a shrub it occurs frequently in swamps and 



wet thickets from Newfound- 

 land to Alanitoba south to 

 Florida and Tennessee. 



The ascending branches are 

 rather slender and have a grav 

 bark. The twigs, leaf-stalk 

 and flower-stalks are usually 

 scurfy. The winter leaf-buds 

 are linear, about i cm. long, 

 the flower-buds narrowly ovoid, 

 long-tipped. The thick, ellip- 

 tic to oblanceolate leaves are 5 

 to 12 cm. long, bright green 

 and smooth or nearly so on the 

 upper side, paler and some- 

 what scurfy on the veins be- 

 FiG. 776. Withe Rod. neath, abruptly pointed, sHghtly 



scalloped or somewhat wa\7 on the margin and tapering into a rounded or nar- 

 rowed base, with a leaf-stalk i to 2 cm. long. The many perfect flowers are borne 

 in cymes 5 to 10 cm. across, which are supported on stalks almost as long as the 

 rays; the corolla is white, 4 to 5 mm. broad. The fmit is pink, becoming blue 

 when fully ripe; it is globose to ovoid, 6 to 9 mm. long, with a flattened ovoid 

 stone, and not edible. 



Although naturally a swamp shrub, this species often grows well when planted 

 in uplands and is desirable for lawns and parks. It flowers from March to July, 

 according to latitude. 



2. SWEET VIBURNUM Viburnum Lentago Linnaeus 



Also known as Sheepberr}', Sweetberr)^ Nannyberry, Nanny plum, Nancyberry, 

 Wild raisin,' Blackthorn, and Blackhaw, this grows in rich moist soil, especially 

 near streams and swamps, from Ontario to JNIanitoba and Montana, south to 

 Georgia and Kansas; it frequently becomes a tree, with a maximum height of 10 

 meters and a tmnk diameter of 2.5 dm. 



The trunk is short, the slender branches usually drooping. The reddish bark, 

 having a strong, rather disagreeable odor, is broken into thick plates which are 

 less deeply divided into smaller segments. The twigs are Hght green and, like the 

 leaf- and flower-stalks, are sparingly covered with reddish brown hairs, becoming 

 reddish or orange and scurfy with age. The winter buds, enclosed in 2 large 



