Southern Arrow-Wood - Viburnum dentatum
Thanks to Megan Hancock, John C. Magee, and Rory McGregor on Facebook Plant Identification forum for the ID help!
Common names include Arrow-wood, Southern Arrow-wood, and Arrow-wood Viburnum.
Arrow-wood is a deciduous shrub (potentially a small tree) with slender trunk(s) and arching branches. This is a small, rounded Viburnum that usually gets no more 6-10 ft (1.8-3 m) tall with a similar spread. Arrow-wood usually has multiple trunks and expands its domain by sending up new shoots from underground runners. The lustrous dark green leaves are opposite, a little sandpapery to the touch, and coarsely toothed along the margins. A prominent lateral vein terminates at the tip of each marginal tooth. The leaves are oval and usually 2-3 in (5-7.7 cm) long. Arrow-wood blooms in mid-spring with showy flat topped clusters of little creamy white flowers. The flowers are about an eighth-inch across and the clusters are 3-4 in (7.7-10 cm) across. The bluish black fruits (1-seeded drupes) are ovoid in shape, a little less than a half-inch long, and the clusters can be quite showy. They are bitter to the taste. The leaves ignite with warm shades of yellow and red in autumn. Arrow-wood is a variable species throughout its natural range.
Arrow-wood is native to eastern North America from New Brunswick to Minnesota and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. It occurs in mesic woods, usually growing in the understory of mixed hardwood forests of oaks, magnolias, maples, hickories, American beech and the like. Arrow-wood grows on both poorly drained and well drained soils.
Southern Arrow-Wood is very similar in appearance to Smooth Arrow-Wood (Viburnum recognitum), except its leaf undersides are more hairy and they are never whitened. Another species, Viburnum molle (Soft-Leaved Arrow-Wood), differs from Southern Arrow-Wood by having leaves that are more cordate in shape and berries that are more narrowly ovoid in shape. The leaves of Soft-Leaved Arrow-Wood also tend to have more pairs of teeth along their margins (often exceeding 20 pairs per leaf). Another similar species, Viburnum rafinesquianum (Downy Arrow-Wood), is a smaller shrub (up to 6' tall) with smaller leaves (up to 3" in length) with shorter petioles. The leaves of Downy Arrow-Wood also tend to have fewer pairs of teeth along their margins (less than 10 pairs per leaf) than those of Southern Arrow-Wood. Within the Viburnum genus, species in the Arrow-Wood group have leaves with coarse dentate teeth and their flowers are malodorous. In contrast, species in the Viburnum group have leaves with fine teeth and their flowers are sweetly scented.
www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/south_arrow.html
www.floridata.com/ref/v/vibu_den.cfm
Southern Arrow-Wood - Viburnum dentatum
Thanks to Megan Hancock, John C. Magee, and Rory McGregor on Facebook Plant Identification forum for the ID help!
Common names include Arrow-wood, Southern Arrow-wood, and Arrow-wood Viburnum.
Arrow-wood is a deciduous shrub (potentially a small tree) with slender trunk(s) and arching branches. This is a small, rounded Viburnum that usually gets no more 6-10 ft (1.8-3 m) tall with a similar spread. Arrow-wood usually has multiple trunks and expands its domain by sending up new shoots from underground runners. The lustrous dark green leaves are opposite, a little sandpapery to the touch, and coarsely toothed along the margins. A prominent lateral vein terminates at the tip of each marginal tooth. The leaves are oval and usually 2-3 in (5-7.7 cm) long. Arrow-wood blooms in mid-spring with showy flat topped clusters of little creamy white flowers. The flowers are about an eighth-inch across and the clusters are 3-4 in (7.7-10 cm) across. The bluish black fruits (1-seeded drupes) are ovoid in shape, a little less than a half-inch long, and the clusters can be quite showy. They are bitter to the taste. The leaves ignite with warm shades of yellow and red in autumn. Arrow-wood is a variable species throughout its natural range.
Arrow-wood is native to eastern North America from New Brunswick to Minnesota and south to eastern Texas and northern Florida. It occurs in mesic woods, usually growing in the understory of mixed hardwood forests of oaks, magnolias, maples, hickories, American beech and the like. Arrow-wood grows on both poorly drained and well drained soils.
Southern Arrow-Wood is very similar in appearance to Smooth Arrow-Wood (Viburnum recognitum), except its leaf undersides are more hairy and they are never whitened. Another species, Viburnum molle (Soft-Leaved Arrow-Wood), differs from Southern Arrow-Wood by having leaves that are more cordate in shape and berries that are more narrowly ovoid in shape. The leaves of Soft-Leaved Arrow-Wood also tend to have more pairs of teeth along their margins (often exceeding 20 pairs per leaf). Another similar species, Viburnum rafinesquianum (Downy Arrow-Wood), is a smaller shrub (up to 6' tall) with smaller leaves (up to 3" in length) with shorter petioles. The leaves of Downy Arrow-Wood also tend to have fewer pairs of teeth along their margins (less than 10 pairs per leaf) than those of Southern Arrow-Wood. Within the Viburnum genus, species in the Arrow-Wood group have leaves with coarse dentate teeth and their flowers are malodorous. In contrast, species in the Viburnum group have leaves with fine teeth and their flowers are sweetly scented.
www.illinoiswildflowers.info/trees/plants/south_arrow.html
www.floridata.com/ref/v/vibu_den.cfm