Viburnum acerifolium - Mapleleaf Viburnum

(vT-bOr’num ~-sêr-i-fO’Ii-um)

LEAVES: Opposite, simple, suborbicular to ovate, 3-lobed, sometimes slightly so, 2 to 4(5”) long, about as wide, rounded to cordate at base, the lobes acute to acuminate, coarsely dentate, slightly pubescent above and dark green, more densely so and with black dots beneath; petiole 1/2 to 1” long, pubescent.

BUDS AND STEM: Remind of V. dentatum, glabrous, gray-

brown.

Viburnum acerifoliurn, Mapleleaf Viburnum, is a low, spar­sely branched shrub growing 4 to 6’ taIl and 3 to 4’ wide. The foliage is bright to dark green in summer changing to reddish purple in fall. The flowers are yellowish white, early June (early May, Athens), borne in 1 to 3” diameter long-stalked flat-topped cyrpes. The

fruit is a black, 1/3” long drupe which ripens in September and often persists into winter. An extremely shade tolerant species reserved for naturalizing. The habit could best be described as suckering for it develops rather large, loose, open colonies in the wild. Is adapted to shade and rather dry soils as it occurs in the understory of the forest in southern locales. It is an excellent plant for use in heavily shaded situations and I find the range of fall colors (creamy-pink, rose, red to grape-juice purple) intriguing. Roots well from June-July cuttings. New Brunswick to Minnesota, south to North Carolina and Georgia. Introduced 1736. Zone 3 to 8.