''Viburnum dentatum'', southern arrowwood or arrowwood viburnum or roughish arrowwood, is a small

shrub A shrub (often also called a 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 ...

, native to the eastern United States and Canada from Maine south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Like most ''

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 membe ...

'', it has opposite, simple leaves and fruit in berry-like

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

s. Foliage turns yellow to red in late fall. Localized variations of the species are common over its entire geographic range. Common differences include leaf size and shape and placement of pubescence on leaf undersides and petioles. Some moth larvae feed on ''V. dentatum''. Known such species include the unsated sallow (or arrowwood sallow; '' Metaxaglaea inulta'') and '' Phyllonorycter viburnella''. It is also consumed by the viburnum leaf beetle (''Pyrrhalta viburni''), an invasive species from Eurasia. The fruits are a food source for songbirds. Berries contain 41.3% fat. The fruits appear blue. The major pigments are

cyanidin 3-glucoside Chrysanthemin is an anthocyanin. It is the 3- glucoside of cyanidin. Natural occurrences Chrysanthemin can be found in the roselle plant (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'', Malvaceae), different Japanese angiosperms, '' Rhaponticum'' (Asteraceae), The ...

cyanidin 3-sambubioside Cyanidin is a natural organic compound. It is a particular type of anthocyanidin (glycoside version called anthocyanins). It is a pigment found in many red berries including grapes, bilberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, chokeberry, cranb ...

, and

cyanidin 3-vicianoside Cyanidin is a natural organic compound. It is a particular type of anthocyanidin (glycoside version called anthocyanins). It is a pigment found in many red berries including grapes, bilberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, chokeberry, cranb ...

, but the total mixture is very complex. Native Americans used the young stems to make

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

shafts.

Varieties

*''Viburnum dentatum'' var. ''deamii'' *''Viburnum dentatum'' var. ''dentatum'' *''Viburnum dentatum'' var. ''lucidum'' – currently considered a separate species; '' Viburnum recognitum'', the northern arrowwood, or smooth arrowwood *''Viburnum dentatum'' var. ''venosum''

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4115036 dentatum Flora of the Northeastern United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of Texas