Viburnum cassinoides
| Viburnum cassinoides | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 8' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Viburnum cassinoides (common name: withe rod)
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[1]. Stored seed will require 2 months warm then 3 months cold stratification and can still take 18 months to germinate[2]. 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[3]. 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, July/August in a frame[4][2]. 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[2].
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 July/August. Takes 15 months[4].
Cultivation: An easily grown plant, it succeeds in most soils but is ill-adapted for poor soils and for dry situations[5]. It dislikes chalk, growing best on lime-free soils[6][7]. Prefers a deep rich loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[8][3]. Best if given shade from the early morning sun in the spring[3].
This species is closely allied to V. nudum[8].
Plants are self-incompatible and need to grow close to a genetically distinct plant in the same species in order to produce fertile seed[8][3].
There is at least one named variety, selected for its ornamental value[3]. 'Nanum' has a dwarf habit and the leaves have a rich autumn colouring[3].
Range: Eastern N. America - Newfoundland to Manitoba, Minnesota, New Jersey, Georgia and Alabama.
Habitat: Thickets, clearings, swamps and borders of woods[9].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[6][10][11][12][13]. The scant flesh is sweet and well flavoured, hanging on the plant well into the winter[14]. The oval fruit is about 10mm long and contains a single large seed[15][K].
The leaves are used as a tea substitute[10][16]. A pleasant taste[14]. The leaves are steamed over boiling water, rolled between the fingers, allowed to stand overnight and then dried in an oven to be used as required[14].
Medicinal: The bark and root bark is antispasmodic, diaphoretic, febrifuge and tonic[17]. An infusion has been used to treat recurrent spasms, fevers, smallpox and ague[17]. The infusion has also been used as a wash for a sore tongue[17].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: V. nudum cassinoides. (L.)Torr.&Gray.
Links
References
- ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Thomas, Graham. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray, 1992.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ Frohne, Dietrich and Hans Pfänder. J. A Colour Atlas of Poisonous Plants. Timber Press, 1984.
- ↑ Turner, Nancy. Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, 1978.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.