Common Name: Southern Black Haw

General Information

Viburnum rufidulum is a deciduous shrub or a tree of very rigid, thin habit; it can grow up to 12 metres tall though is usually much smaller in cultivation. The plant suckers to form thickets[, , ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental, where it can be used to make a hedge or screen[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Southern N. America - Kansas to Ohio, south to Texas, Georgia and Florida

Habitat

Moist woods and thickets[, ]. By the sides of streams, hillsides, roadsides, woodland margins and clearings[]. Also found in dry upland woods[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Shrub
Height	5.00 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but is ill-adapted for poor soils and for dry situations[]. It prefers a deep rich loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[, ]. Best if given shade from the early morning sun in spring[].
Plants have a denser habit when growing in full sun[].
A fast-growing but short-lived species in the wild[]. Plants grow well but do not flower very freely in Britain[].
Plants are self-incompatible and need to grow close to a genetically distinct plant in the same species in order to produce fruit and fertile seed[, ].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw or cooked[]. The fleshy fruit has a sweet taste, somewhat like raisins[], but it is nearly all seed[, ]. The taste is best after a frost. The blue, ellipsoid fruit is up to 15mm long and contains a single large seed[, ].

Medicinal

The bark is antispasmodic and has been used in the treatment of cramps and colic[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant can be grown to produce a hedge or screen[]

Other Uses

Wood - fine-grained, heavy, hard, strong, with a disagreeable odour[]. Of no particular value[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Germination can be slow, sometimes taking more than 18 months. If the seed is harvested 'green' (when it has fully developed but before it has fully ripened) and sown immediately in a cold frame, it should germinate in the spring[]. Stored seed will require 2 months warm then 3 months cold stratification and can still take 18 months to germinate[]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse. Plant out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of soft-wood, early summer in a frame[]. Pot up into individual pots once they start to root and plant them out in late spring or early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8 cm long with a heel if possible, mid summer in a frame[, ]. Plant them into individual pots as soon as they start to root. These cuttings can be difficult to overwinter, it is best to keep them in a greenhouse or cold frame until the following spring before planting them out[].
Cuttings of mature wood, winter in a frame. They should root in early spring - pot them up when large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer if sufficient new growth is made, otherwise keep them in a cold frame for the next winter and then plant them out in the spring.
Layering of current seasons growth in mid summer. Takes 15 months[].