Herb: Southern Black Haw


Latin name: Viburnum rufidulum


Synonyms: Viburnum prunifolium ferrugineum, Viburnum rufotomentosum


Family: Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle Family)



Medicinal use of Southern Black Haw:

The bark is antispasmodic and has been used in the treatment of cramps and colic.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Deciduous
Shrub

Height:
12 m
(39 feet)

Flowering:
June

Habitat of the herb:

Moist woods and thickets. By the sides of streams, hillsides, roadsides, woodland margins and clearings. Also found in dry upland woods.

Edible parts of Southern Black Haw:

Fruit - raw or cooked. The flshy fruit has a sweet taste, somewhat like raisins, but it is nearly all seed. The taste is best after a frost. The ellipsoid fruit is up to 15mm long and contains a single large seed.

Other uses of the herb:

Wood - fine-grained, heavy, hard, strong, with a disagreeable odour. Of no particular value.

Propagation of Southern Black Haw:

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. Stored seed will require 2 months warm then 3 months cold stratification and can still take 18 months to germinate. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Cultivation of the herb:

Moist woods and thickets. By the sides of streams, hillsides, roadsides, woodland margins and clearings. Also found in dry upland woods.

Known hazards of Viburnum rufidulum:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.