Southern Blackhaw Viburnum, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum

Viburnum rufidulum

Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle Family)

▲ flowering shrub at Master Gardener Demonstration Garden in Nathanael Greene Park

▲ wild shrub in open woods near South Creek in Springfield

▲ flowers

▲ foliage, showing dark red buds

▲ fall color on plant at Springfield Nature Center

Location near campus: in woods on north side of South Creek,  west of McDaniel Park  in Springfield; along trails at Springfield Nature Center

Viburnum rufidulum: Southern Blackhaw Viburnum, Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum

·         leaves opposite, simple, deciduous, ovate to rounded,2-4 inches long and about ½ as wide with slightly  serrate margins; leaves are shiny, leathery dark green above and pale green below; pubescent when young; fall color often bright red

·         petiole is winged and with rust-colored hairs

·         stems glabrous, short & stiff and gray-brown in color

·         size is to 20' tall and about 2/3 as wide, often smaller in cultivation

·         flowers are white in terminal flat-topped clusters (cymes) and fruit is a pinkish to black drupe which ripens in early fall

·         grows well in sun or shade; prefers dryer soils

·         slow to medium growth rate

·         native to Missouri

·         another native viburnum—Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) has thinner, hairless leaves and buds are gray and not covered with dark rusty-red hairs