Shrub to 5 m tall Leaves: opposite, stalked, 5 - 12 cm long, oblong to egg-shaped with a rounded to heart-shaped base and pointed or blunt tip, finely and uniformly toothed, sparsely hairy and wrinkled above, hairier beneath (hairs star-shaped). Leaf stalks 1 - 3 cm long, finely and sparsely hairy (hairs star-shaped). Flowers: in branched clusters (cymes). Cymes seven-rayed, flat-topped, 6 - 10 cm wide, on 5 mm - 5 cm long stalks. Corolla five-lobed, white, 5 - 8 mm wide. Stamens five, exserted from the corolla, yellow. Stigma three-lobed. Fruit: berry-like (drupe), in clusters, yellow to red then black (all three colors may be present in same cluster), 8 - 10 mm wide, oblong to egg-shaped, single-seeded. Twigs: stout, finely and sparsely hairy when young (hairs star-shaped). Form: rounded with upright, arching branches.

Similar species: Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, V. prunifolium, and V. lentago are similar but often not hairy, and if they are, the hairs are not star-shaped.

Flowering: May to June

Habitat and ecology: Introduced from Eurasia. An occasional escape from cultivation into wooded areas.

Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native

Notes: About 200 species of Viburnum occur between North America, Europe and Asia. Many are ornamental shrubs cultivated for their showy flowers, autumn foliage, and attraction to wildlife.

Etymology: Viburnum is the Latin word for the Wayfaring tree. Lantana is the ancient Latin name for a Viburnum.

Author: The Morton Arboretum

Shrub to 5 m; young stems, petioles, and lower lf-surface finely and loosely gray-stellate; petioles 1-3 cm; lvs oblong to ovate, 5-12 cm, acute or obtuse, finely serrate, basally rounded or cordate; cyme short-pedunculate, about 7-rayed; cor 5-8 mm wide; fr red, turning dark, 8-10 mm; stone furrowed on both sides; 2n=18. Native of Eurasia, sometimes escaped from cult. June.

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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