''Viburnum rufidulum'', also known as the rusty blackhaw, blue haw, rusty nanny-berry, or southern black haw, is a flowering

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

that is common in parts of the Eastern and Central

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It produces attractive flowers and fall foliage, as well as fruits that are popular with some species of bird.

Description

Leathery

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are simple and grow in opposite blades ranging from 0.5-3 inches in length and 1-1.5 inches in width. Petioles are "rusty hairy" with grooves and sometimes wings.

Leaf margin A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the plant stem, stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leav ...

s are serrate. Autumn leaf colors are bronze to red.

Twig A twig is a thin, often short, branch of a tree or Bush (plant), bush. The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as are the abscission scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and patterning of the t ...

s range in color from "reddish brown to gray"; young twigs are hairy, and get smoother with age. Bark is similar that of the

flowering dogwood ''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to northern Florida ...

, ranging in color from "reddish brown to almost black" and forming "blocky plates on larger trunks". ''Viburnum rufidulum'' blooms in April to May with creamy white flowers that are bisexual, or perfect and similar to those of other ''

Viburnum ''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The memb ...

'' species, but with clusters as large as six inches wide. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s are purple or dark blue,

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), ...

globose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary ...

or ellipsoid

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...

s that mature in mid to late summer. The edible fruit has been said to taste like raisins and attract birds. It is similar to ''

Viburnum prunifolium ''Viburnum prunifolium'' (known as blackhaw or black haw, blackhaw viburnum, sweet haw, and stag bush) is a species of ''Viburnum'' native to eastern North America, from Connecticut west to eastern Kansas, and south to Alabama and Texas. Growth ...

'' (blackhaw). Petioles of ''V. prunifolium'' do not have the rusty hairs that those of ''V. rufidulum'' do.

Distribution

The rusty blackhaw prefers dry habitats with elevations generally below 750 m. It grows in

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, and

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Uses

It is occasionally used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7924704 rufidulum Flora of the United States Plants described in 1838 Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque