Arrowwood Viburnum              vi-BER-num den-TA-tum

• Deciduous shrub, upright, dense, to 15 ft (5 m) tall, suckering.  Leaves simple, opposite, rounded to ovate, 3-8 cm long, base rounded or subcordate, tip acuminate, margin coarsely dentate (toothed), 6-10 pairs of veins, glossy green above, paler below, sometimes with hairs in axils of veins; petiole 1-2.5 cm long; fall color ranges from yellow to russet-red to purplish-red.  Flowers have white petals, with yellow stamens projecting beyond the petals, in flat-topped clusters (cymes) 5-8 cm across.  Fruit globose to ovoid, 6 mm long, blue-black.
• Sun or partial shade, adapts to many soil types, suckers freely.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 3        Native range from New Brunswick to Minnesota and south to Georgia.
• Viburnum dentatum is a polymorphic species, meaning that it has more than one form or morph.   With V. dentatum there are several similar and related forms and species and together they are referred to as the "dentatum" complex.  This complex includes, but not limited to, V. bracteatum, V. rafinesquianum , V. ozarkensis, and V. recognitum.  Dirr (2009, p.1200) creates the following image of the variation in Viburnum dentatum"...envision this group as a north-south, east-west continuum showing slight differences in leaf characteristics, pubescence, habit and size but possessing similar creamy white flowers and blue to blue-black fruits...".
• dentatum: toothed, a reference to the leaves.