''Viburnum molle'', commonly called softleaf arrowwood, is a species of flowering plant in the moschatel family (

Adoxaceae Adoxaceae, commonly known as moschatel family, is a small family of flowering plants in the order Dipsacales, now consisting of five genera and about 150–200 species. They are characterised by opposite toothed leaves, small five- or, more rare ...

). It is native to the eastern United States, where it restricted to the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

and

Upper South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...

. Its distribution is scattered, and populations occur in disjunct clusters. Its natural habitat is in rocky bluff forests over calcareous soil, and in adjacent bottomlands.''Viburnum molle''
Ohio Division of Natural Resources ''Viburnum molle'' is a woody shrub that spreads by underground runners. It produces clusters of small white flowers in late spring. It has distinctive papery bark which peels off in sheets. Although it bears a superficial resemblance to the more widespread ''

Viburnum dentatum ''Viburnum dentatum'', southern arrowwood or arrowwood viburnum or roughish arrowwood, is a small shrub, native to the eastern United States and Canada from Maine south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Like most ''Viburnum'', it has opposi ...

'', it can be distinguished by its ovate-orbicular leaves with strictly cordate leaf bases, its prominent long-filiform stipules, and its ellipsoid fruit.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17434646

molle MOLLE (pronounced ,, homophonic with the name Molly) is an acronym for Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment. It is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and backpacks used by a number of NATO armed forces, espe ...