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.