Viburnum edule (Michx.) Raf.
highbush-cranberry (mooseberry; squashberry)
Adoxaceae (Honeysuckle family)
(Previously in Caprifoliaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #70605)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Viburnum edule
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Deciduous, sprawling to erect shrub, spreading from rhizomes and by layering, 0.5-3.5 m tall; twigs glabrous; bark smooth, reddish to grey.
Leaves:
Opposite, stalked, elliptic in outline, most shallowly 3-lobed but some unlobed, jaggedly toothed, often with an isolated pair of glandular teeth near the junction of the blade and stalk, glabrous or hairy beneath, especially along the veins, turning crimson in the fall.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a small, compact, flat or rounded cluster of few to several flowers, 1-3 cm across, borne on short axillary stalks with a pair of leaves; flowers all alike and fertile; petals whitish, fused at bases into tubes that flare (4-7 mm wide) at the tops to 5 lobes; stamens inconspicuous, the filaments 1 mm long or less.
Fruits:
Berrylike drupes, clustered, red or orange, 0.8-1.5 cm long, each with a single, large, flattened stone.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present from Summer to Fall
Source:  The USDA

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Viburnum edule

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
841 0 2500
Slope Gradient (%)
13 -2 262

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

343 0 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
4 0 8
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
6420
Modal BEC Zone Class
SBS

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

BWBS(1246), CWH(284), ESSF(330), ICH(1007), IDF(205), MH(5), MS(347), PP(4), SBPS(111), SBS(2433), SWB(43)

Habitat and Range

Wet to moist streambanks, swamps and forests in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; frequent throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF, and S to PA, ID, CO and OR.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Viburnum pauciflorum La Pylaie ex Torr. & A. Gray