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 - Viburnum lantanoides
 
Viburnum lantanoides — hobblebush
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Facts
Hobblebush inhabits the understory of cool forests. It produces flat-topped clusters of white flowers in two forms: 1) an outer ring of 3/4-inch wide, showy white flowers that are sterile, but may attract pollinators; and 2) an inner cluster of small greenish, fertile flowers. This shrub is a host plant for the caterpillars of the spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).
Habitat
Forests
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
Characteristics
- Habitat
 - terrestrial
 
- New England state
 - 
                                
                                    
- Connecticut
 - Maine
 - Massachusetts
 - New Hampshire
 - Rhode Island
 - Vermont
 
 
- Growth form
 - the plant is a shrub (a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
 
- Leaf type
 - the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
 
- Leaves per node
 - there are two leaves per node along the stem
 
- Leaf blade edges
 - the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
 
- Leaf duration
 - the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
 
- armature on plant
 - the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
 
- Leaf blade length
 - 100–180 mm
 
- Leaf blade width
 - 100–200 mm
 
- Leaf stalk
 - the leaves have leaf stalks
 
- Fruit type (general)
 - the fruit is fleshy
 
- Bark texture
 - 
                                
                                    
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
 - the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
 
 
- Twig winter color
 - 
                                
                                    
- brown
 - gray
 - green
 - purple
 
 
- Bud scale number
 - there are no scales on the winter buds
 
- 
                        
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud position relative to scar
 - the winter bud has a leaf scar just below it
 
- Bud scale number
 - there are no scales on the winter buds
 
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
 - NA
 
- Bundle scar number
 - 3
 
- Collateral buds
 - there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
 
- Leaf scar arrangement
 - there are two leaf scars per node on the stem or twig
 
- Pseudoterminal bud
 - there are no pseudoterminal buds on the tips of the branches
 
- Superposed buds
 - there are no superposed buds on the branch
 
- Terminal bud
 - the branch has a terminal bud on it
 
- Winter bud distribution
 - 
                                
                                    
- the winter buds are clustered near the tip of the twig
 - the winter buds are distributed fairly evenly along the twig
 
 
- Winter bud scale hairs
 - NA
 
- Winter bud scales
 - the winter bud is naked (not covered with scales)
 
- Winter bud shape
 - the winter buds are a shape other than the choices given
 
- Winter bud stalks
 - the winter buds have short stalks
 
 - 
                        
Flowers
- Anther color
 - the anthers show no hint of a pink, reddish or purplish tint
 
- Carpels fused
 - the carpels are fused to one another
 
- Enlarged sterile flowers
 - some of the flowers on the plant are enlarged and sterile
 
- Flower petal color
 - white
 
- Flower symmetry
 - 
                                
                                    
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
 - there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)
 
 
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
 - NA
 
- Hypanthium present
 - the flower does not have a hypanthium
 
- Inflorescence position
 - the inflorescences grow on the twigs
 
- Inflorescence type
 - the inflorescence is a dichasial cyme (an axis with a terminal flower, below it a pair of branches, each with a terminal flower, these branches may in turn each have a pair of branches and so on)
 
- Number of pistils
 - 1
 
- Ovary position
 - the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
 
- Petal and sepal arrangement
 - the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
 
- Petal appearance
 - the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
 
- Petal fusion
 - the perianth parts are fused to form a tube, cup, or bell shape
 
- Sepal appearance
 - the sepals resemble leaves in color and texture
 
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
 - NA
 
- Sepal tip glands
 - there are no glands at the tips of the sepal lobes
 
- Sepals fused only to sepals
 - the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases
 
- Stamen number
 - 5
 
- Stamen position relative to petals
 - the stamens are lined up with the sepals (antesepalous)
 
- Stamens fused
 - the stamens are not fused to one another
 
 - 
                        
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
 - 
                                
                                    
- NA
 - black
 - red
 
 
- Fruit tissue origin
 - there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
 
- Fruit type (general)
 - the fruit is fleshy
 
- Fruit type (specific)
 - the fruit is a drupe (fleshy, with a firm inner ovary wall that encloses a single seed)
 
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
 - NA
 
- Wings on fruit
 - there are no wings on the fruit
 
 - 
                        
Glands or sap
- Sap color
 - the sap is clear and watery
 
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
 - NA
 
 - 
                        
Growth form
- Growth form
 - the plant is a shrub (a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
 
 - 
                        
Leaves
- Hairs on underside of leaf blade
 - the underside of the leaf has hairs on it
 
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
 - the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
 
- Leaf blade base shape
 - The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
 
- Leaf blade base symmetry
 - the leaf blade base is symmetrical
 
- Leaf blade bloom
 - the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom
 
- Leaf blade edges
 - the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
 
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
 - NA
 
- Leaf blade flatness
 - the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
 
- Leaf blade hairs
 - 
                                
                                    
- at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade are branched
 - at least some of the hairs on the leaf blade are reddish-brown, and they do not have glands
 
 
- Leaf blade length
 - 100–180 mm
 
- Leaf blade scales
 - there are no scales on the leaf blades
 
- Leaf blade shape
 - 
                                
                                    
- the leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
 - the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
 
 
- Leaf blade texture
 - the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
 
- Leaf blade translucent dots
 - there are no translucent dots on the leaf blade
 
- Leaf blade vein pattern
 - the main veins of the leaf blade are pinnate (the secondary veins branch off at intervals from the main central vein) and non-arcuate (not arched towards the leaf tip)
 
- Leaf blade veins
 - the leaf blade has one main vein running from the base toward the tip
 
- Leaf blade width
 - 100–200 mm
 
- Leaf duration
 - the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
 
- Leaf form
 - the plant is broad-leaved (with broadly flattened leaf blades)
 
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
 - NA
 
- Leaf midrib glands
 - the midrib of the leaf blade lacks glands on the upper surface
 
- Leaf stalk
 - the leaves have leaf stalks
 
- Leaf stalk attachment to leaf
 - the petiole attaches at the basal margin of the leaf blade
 
- Leaf stalk nectaries
 - there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
 
- Leaf stalk shape
 - the leaf stalk is not flattened
 
- Leaf teeth
 - 
                                
                                    
- the leaf blade margin has teeth, which themselves have smaller teeth on them
 - the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
 - the leaf blade margin is serrulate (with forward-pointing) or denticulate (with outward-pointing) with tiny teeth
 
 
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
 - NA
 
- Leaf type
 - the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
 
- Leaves per node
 - there are two leaves per node along the stem
 
- Specific leaf type
 - the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
 
- Stipules
 - there are no stipules on the plant, or they fall off as the leaf expands
 
 - 
                        
Place
- Habitat
 - terrestrial
 
- New England state
 - 
                                
                                    
- Connecticut
 - Maine
 - Massachusetts
 - New Hampshire
 - Rhode Island
 - Vermont
 
 
- Specific habitat
 - forests
 
 - 
                        
Scent
- Plant odor
 - the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
 
 - 
                        
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
 - the plant has no aerial roots
 
- Bark texture
 - 
                                
                                    
- the bark of an adult plant is ridged or plated
 - the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
 
 
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
 - NA
 
- Branch cross-section
 - the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
 
- First-year cane (Rubus)
 - NA
 
- Pith shape
 - the outline of the pith in a twig is roughly round
 
- Pith type
 - the pith inside the twig is solid, completely filled with spongy tissue
 
- Short shoots
 - there are no peg- or knob-like shoots present
 
- Twig bloom
 - there is no bloom on the twig
 
- Twig hairs
 - the twigs have hairs, but the hairs do not have glands
 
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
 - NA
 
- Twig scales
 - there are no scales on the twig surface
 
- Twig winter color
 - 
                                
                                    
- brown
 - gray
 - green
 - purple
 
 
- Wings on branch
 - the branch does not have wings on it
 
- armature on plant
 - the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
 
 
Wetland status
Usually occurs in non-wetlands, but occasionally in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: FACU)
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
 - present
 
- Maine
 - present
 
- Massachusetts
 - present
 
- New Hampshire
 - present
 
- Rhode Island
 - present
 
- Vermont
 - present
 
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
 - unranked (S-rank: SNR)
 
- Rhode Island
 - extremely rare (S-rank: S1), concern (code: C)
 
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
6. Viburnum lantanoides Michx. N
hobblebush. Viburnum alnifolium Marsh.; V. grandifolium Ait. • CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT. Temperate to boreal, mesic to wet-mesic forests.