E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Viburnum opulus var. americanum L. Aiton
American bush-cranberry (American cranberrybush)
Adoxaceae (Honeysuckle family)
(Previously in Caprifoliaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Jack Bowling  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #70827)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Viburnum opulus var. americanum
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Species Information

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General:
Deciduous, erect, large shrub, 1-4 m tall; twigs glabrous; bark smooth, grey.
Leaves:
Opposite, stalked, broadly egg-shaped to nearly round in outline, 5-13 cm long, all deeply and sharply 3-lobed, coarsely blunt-toothed, nearly glabrous or hairy beneath on the veins; stalks with a shallow groove and small glands upward.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a flattish cluster of several to many flowers, 5-15 cm across, with sterile marginal flowers much larger than the fertile inner ones; petals white, fused at bases into tubes that spread (1.5-2.5 cm wide) to 5 large lobes in the marginal flowers, to 3-4 mm wide in the small inner flowers; stamens conspicuous, exserted of corolla, the filaments 3-5 mm long.
Fruits:
Berrylike drupes, clustered, scarlet, 0.8-1.5 cm long, each with a single, large, flattened stone.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
White
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Red
Present over the
Source:  The USDA

Habitat / Range

Moist streambanks and lakesides in the steppe and montane zones; infrequent in WC, SC and SE BC; E to NF and S to PA, WY, ID, and WA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Viburnum opulus var. americanum

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

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 625 802 980
Slope Gradient (%) 0 1 3
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
360 360 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
6 6 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
E
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
2
Modal BEC Zone Class
SBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: SBS(2)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is cool temperate & cool mesothermal.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Viburnum opulus subsp. trilobum (Marsh.) R.T. Clausen
Viburnum trilobum Marsh.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References