Trees of New York State 343 



CAPRIFOLIACEAE 



Viburnum pmnifoliiim L. 



Black Haw, Stag Bush 



Habit — A slirub or small tree 15-25 feet in height i\'ith a trunk diameter of 

 3-6 inches, at its optimum range occasionally 35 feet in height vrith. a 

 trunk one foot in diameter. Trimk short, often crooked or inclined. 

 Crown broad, round-topped, consisting of many rigid branclies and spur- 

 like branchlets. 



Leaves — Opposite, oval or occasionally ovate or obovate, 1-3 inches long, 

 obtuse or somewhat acute at the apex obtuse or rounded at the base, 

 finely serrate, at maturity firm, dark green and glabrous above, paler 

 and glabrous or with axillary tufts of rusty tomentum below, borne on 

 grooved^ generally tomentose petioles M:-% of an inch long. 



Flowers — Appearing in May after the leaves on slender pedicels in dense, 

 many-flowered, sessile, terminal cymes 3-4 inches broad. Calyx-tube nar- 

 rowly ovate, adlierent to the ovary, with short rounded lobes. Corolla 

 white, rotate, about V^ of an inch in diameter, divided deeply into 5 

 oval lobes. Stamens 5, exserted, inserted at the base of the corolla and 

 alternate with its lobes, with long slender filaments and yellow anthers. 

 Pistil consisting of an inferior, 1-celled ovary surmounted by a thick, 

 conic style terminated by a broad stigma. 



Fruit — An oval or slightly obovate, dark blue or nearly black, glaucous 

 drupe, about i/4 of an inch long, borne on slender, reddish stalks in 

 drooping, few-fruited clusters, ripening in October. Flesh sweet and 

 edible after the first autumnal frost. Pit oblong, compresser. 



Winter characters — Twigs rather slender, smooth and often covered with a 

 slight bloom, gray tinged with red, marked by orange-eolored lentieels 

 and lunate leaf-scars. Spine-nke branch spurs usually very numerous. 

 Terminal flower-buds ovate, obtuse, about % of an inch long, protected 

 by a single pair of rusty pubescent scales. Terminal-shoot buds lanceo- 

 late, otherwise similar to the flower-buds. Lateral buds ovate-lanceolate, 

 flattened, appressed to the twig, about ^ of an inch long. Mature bark 

 thin, reddish bro\vn, divided by shallow fissures into irregular, warty 

 scales. 



Habitat — Rather drj' situations on gravelly hills, along fences and hedge 

 rows, and about the margins of woods, often forming extensive thickets 

 on abandoned lands. 



Range — Central New England and New York southward to Georgia and 

 Arkansas. Zones A and B. 



Uses — The Black Haw is used as an ornamental plant throughout the 

 arboretums and parks of eastern United States and Europe. The bark 

 of the roots has medicinal value. 



