Viburnum lantanoides
| Viburnum lantanoides | |
| Light: |    |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 3 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 10' |
| Blooms: | Late Spring-Early Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Viburnum lantanoides (common name: hobbleberry)
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 prefers a deep rich loamy soil in a shady position[6]. Requires a moist acid soil and woodland conditions but without competition from other plants[6][7][3]. Another report says that it requires an exposed position[8]. Dislikes alkaline soils[7]. Best if given shade from the early morning sun in spring[3].
A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -30°c[7].
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[6][3].
Plants are often self-layering in the wild and form thickets[7].
This species is closely related to V. furcatum[7].
Range: Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to North Carolina, Ontario, Tennessee and Michigan.
Habitat: Moist woods and shady ravines[9][10].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[8][10][11]. Sweet and palatable, tasting somewhat like raisins or dates[12][13][14]. The fruits have a large seed and a thin flesh[14]. The taste is best after a frost[10][11]. The ovoid fruit is about 15mm long and contains a single large seed[3].
Medicinal: The leaves are analgesic[15]. They have been mashed and applied to the head as a poultice to ease a migraine[15].
A decoction of the roots has been used as a blood medicine[15]. The decoction has been used as a fertility aid by women[15].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: V. alnifolium.
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 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 6.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Shrubs. Pan Books, 1989.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 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.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.