Happy Mystery Monday! Can you guess what is pictured in photo below:
The answer to last week’s mystery is arrowwood viburnum, Viburnum dentatum, pictured in the photo below:
Arrowwood viburnum is a native deciduous shrub that can be found from Maine to Florida, and westward toward Iowa and east Texas. It thrives in open woods and streambanks and most commonly occurs in partial shade but can tolerate full sun.
Arrowwood flowers from May–June and fruits from August–November. The shrub’s non-fragrant white flowers form flat-topped corymbs. The showy flower clusters give way to blue-black, berry-like drupes which are attractive to birds and other wildlife.
Thanks to vigorous and sturdy growth, arrowwood can be used as a hedge, screen, specimen, or in mass plantings. While the shrub’s growth habit is an upright oval, the older branches arch with age. Suckers also develop with age and are easy to transplant. Next season’s blossoms appear on old growth
Native Americans reportedly used the straight stems of this species for arrow shafts, hence the common name.
Arrowwood viburnum is the host plant for various species of moths and butterflies, including two specialist moth species: the brown scoopwing moth and the marveled wave moth. It’s also a host plant for Spring azure butterflies. Arrowwood provides nectar for pollinators, including native bees, and food and shelter for birds. Arrowwood is deer resistant.
Mystery Monday is sponsored by the Spy Newspapers and Adkins Arboretum.
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.