Sheep Berry Sweet Viburnum Nanny Plum


=Habitat and Range.=--Rich woods, thickets, river valleys, along fences.



Province of Quebec to Saskatchewan.



Frequent throughout New England.



South along the mountains to Georgia and Kentucky; west to

Minnesota, Nebraska, and Missouri.



=Habit.=--A shrub or small tree, 10-25 feet in height with numerous

branches forming a wide-spreading, compact roun
ed head; conspicuous by

rich foliage, profuse, fragrant yellowish-white flowers, and long,

drooping clusters of crimson fruit which deepen to a rich purple when

fully ripe.



=Bark.=--Trunk and larger branches dark purplish or reddish brown,

separating in old trees into small, firm sections; branchlets

grayish-brown; season's shoots reddish-brown, dotted, more or less

scurfy.



=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Leaf-buds long, narrow, covered with scurfy,

brown, leaf-like scales; flower-buds much longer, swollen at the base,

with two leaf-like scales extended into a long, spire-like point. Leaves

simple, opposite, 2-4 inches long, upper surface bright green, lower

paler and set with rusty scales, ovate to oblong-ovate or orbicular,

sharply and finely serrate, smooth, tapered or abruptly pointed; base

acute to rounded or truncate; stem slender, wavy-margined, channeled

above; stipules none.



=Inflorescence.=--May or early June. Terminal, in broad, flat-topped,

compound, sessile cymes; calyx-tube adherent to the ovary, 5-toothed;

corolla white, salver-shaped, segments 5, oval, reflexed; stamens 5,

projecting, anthers yellow; pistil truncate.



=Fruit.=--Profuse, in clusters; drupes 1/2 inch long, oval, crimson when

ripening, deep purple when fully ripe, edible, sweet: stone flat, oval,

rough, obscurely striate lengthwise.



=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; prefers a rich

soil in open places or in light shade. Its showy flowers, healthy

foliage, and vigorous growth make it a desirable plant for high shrub

plantations, and as an undergrowth in open woods. Offered for sale by

collectors and occasionally by nurserymen; easily transplanted;

propagated from seed or from cuttings.






1. Winter buds.

2. Flowering branch.

3. Flower.

4. Flower, side view.

5. Flower with petals and stamens removed.

6. Fruiting branch.



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