Viburnum prunifolium

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Viburnum prunifolium
Light:Full Sun Part Shade
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:3
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Cross Pollinated
Height:25'
Width:16'
Blooms:Early Summer
Open Woods Forest
Native to:
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Viburnum prunifolium (common name: stagberry)

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, succeeding in most soils[5]. Unlike other members of the genus, this species grows well on poor soils and in dry situations[3]. Prefers a deep rich loamy soil in sun or semi-shade[6][3]. Best if given shade from the early morning sun in spring[3].

A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -40°c[3].

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].

Range: Eastern N. America - Connecticut to Florida, west to Texas and Kansas.

Habitat: Thickets, woodland borders, shores etc[7], and on dry rocky hillsides[8][9].

Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[10][11][12][13][3][14]. A thin dry flesh with a sweet taste[6][15][16]. The fruit is somewhat variable in size and quality, the best forms are nice raw whilst others are used for making preserves etc[17]. The taste is best after a frost[18][19][20]. The ovoid fruit is about 17mm long and contains a single large seed[3].

Medicinal: Stagberry was used by the North American Indians to treat dysentery and to arrest haemorrhage of the uterus[21][14]. It is now considered to be a specific treatment for the relief of menstrual pain - the bark contains 'scopoletin', a coumarin that has a sedative affect on the uterus and salicin, a painkiller that is used in making aspirin[22][21].

The bark of the root and stems is abortifacient, anodyne, antispasmodic, astringent, nervine and sedative[23][19][24][25]. A tea is used internally in the treatment of painful or heavy menstruation, prolapse of the uterus, morning sickness, to prevent miscarriage and to relieve spasms after childbirth[25][22][21]. It is also used to treat convulsive disorders, colic and other cramping pains that affect the bile ducts, hysteria, asthma and palpitations of a nervous origin[22][21]. The stem bark is harvested in the autumn before the leaves change colour, or in the spring before the leaf buds open[22]. The root bark is only harvested in the autumn[21]. Both barks can be dried for later use[22].

Usage: Plants can be grown as a hedge, they can be sheared to make a formal screen[3].

Wood - heavy, hard, strong, brittle, close grained[9]. It weighs 52lb per cubic foot, but is of no commercial importance due to the small size of the trees[16][26].

Pollinators: Insects

Notes: We could probably supply this in the next catalogue.

Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.

Seed Ripens: Mid Fall

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Also Known As: V. pyrifolium.

Links

References

  1. ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
  5. ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
  7. ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
  8. ↑ Simmons, Alan. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles, 1972.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
  10. ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
  11. ↑ Mabey, Richard. Food for Free. Collins, 1974.
  12. ↑ Harris, Ben. Eat the Weeds. Pivot Health, 1973.
  13. ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
  15. ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Vines, Robert. Trees of North Texas. University of Texas Press, 1982.
  17. ↑ Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  18. ↑ Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  20. ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
  23. ↑ Launert, Edmund. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn, 1981.
  24. ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
  26. ↑ Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.


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