Viburnum

Viburnum fruit Viburnum nudum

Description

Any of several shrubs and plants of the genus Viburnum. A brown dye is extracted from the fruit of the Viburnum nudum plant. It is used as a darkening agent with other colors.

Synonyms and Related Terms

naked viburnum; withe rod; Viburnum nudum (possumhaw viburnum); snowball bush; snebolle (Dan.); Schneeball (Deut.); viorne (Fr.); viburnum (Fr.); oppiono (It.); palla di neve (It.); pallone di maggio (It.); sneeuwbal (Ned.); kalina (Pol.)

Viburnum plant Viburnum nudum

Physical and Chemical Properties

• Shrub =height to 6 m
• Flower=small white in flat-topped cluster
• Fruit=clusters of pink berries ripening to a dark blue in fall, stay in winter

Resources and Citations

• R.J. Adrosko, Natural Dyes in the United States, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 1968

• Virginia Tech Dendrology website at www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/main.htm (accessed Oct. 3, 2005)

• Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viburnum (Accessed Dec. 8, 2004)

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998