Viburnum edule
Common name:
Mooseberry
Highbush Cranberry
Moosewood Viburnum
Squashberry
Pronunciation:
vi-BER-num ED-yew-lee
Family:
Adoxaceae, Caprifoliaceae
Genus:
Synonyms:
Viburnum pauciflorum
Type:
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
Yes
- Broadleaf deciduous shrub, straggling to erect, 2-12 ft (0.6-3.5 m) tall, young shoots glabrous. Leaves opposite, simple, nearly circular to broad elliptic, 5-8 cm long, 3 short maple-like lobes at the apex (especially lower leaves), the upper leaves are elliptical, base rounded to truncate, irregularly serrate, 3 veined, petiole 1-2.5 cm long. Flowers are milky-white, in few-flowered terminal, small (1.5-2.5 cm wide) clusters (cymes), bloom May to August depending upon location. Fruit oval-globose dupe, orange to red, 8 mm long, contains one seed. Fruit considered edible (juicy, acidic, "strange" odor), but best suited for making jellies.
- Sun or partial shade
- Hardy to USDA Zone 5 Native to much of northern North America, from Newfoundland to Alaska and British Columbia, south through New England and Great Lakes States, and Washington and Oregon. Populations are also found in Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado. Considered threatened or endangered in some eastern states.
- Viburnum edule might be confused with Viburnum opulus var. americanum (syn. Viburnum trilobum). Listed here are a few differences in these plants.
- "The tart clustered berries were an important food, especially for peoples of the central and northern [Pacific Northwest] coast region." (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).
- edule: edible