Introductory
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



ABBREVIATION : 
VIBACE

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   VIAC


COMMON NAMES : 
   mapleleaf viburnum
   dockmackie
   mapleleaved arrow-wood
   possum-haw
   squash-berry
   guelder-rose


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name for mapleleaf viburnum is
Viburnum acerifolium L. [11].  Two intergrading varieties are
recognized:  V. a. var. acerifolium and V. a. var. glabrescens Rehd.
[2]. 


LIFE FORM : 
Shrub

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Milo Coladonato, August 1993


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Coladonato, Milo. 1993. Viburnum acerifolium. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Mapleleaf viburnum occurs from southern Ontario to Quebec, south to
eastern Texas, and east to the northern panhandle of Florida [5,9,24].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES10  White - red - jack pine
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES13  Loblolly - shortleaf pine
   FRES14  Oak - pine
   FRES15  Oak - hickory
   FRES17  Elm - ash - cottonwood
   FRES18  Maple - beech - birch
   FRES19  Aspen - birch


STATES : 
     AL  AR  CT  DE  FL  GA  IL  IN  IA  KS
     LA  ME  MD  MI  MN  MS  MO  NE  NJ  NY
     NC  OH  OK  PA  RI  SC  TN  TX  VA  WV
     WI  ON  PQ


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     ACAD  ALPO  BISO  BLRI  CATO  CHCH
     CUGA  CUVA  DEWA  FIIS  GATE  GWMP
     GRSM  INDU  MACA  MANA  MORR  NERI
     OBRI  PRWI  RICH  ROCR  SHEN  SHIL
     SLBE  VAFO


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K093  Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
   K095  Great Lakes pine forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce - fir forest
   K097  Southeastern spruce - fir forest
   K099  Maple - basswood forest
   K100  Oak - hickory forest
   K101  Elm - ash forest
   K102  Beech - maple forest
   K103  Mixed mesophytic forest
   K104  Appalachian oak forest
   K106  Northern hardwoods
   K107  Northern hardwoods - fir forest
   K108  Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
   K111  Oak - hickory - pine forest
   K112  Southern mixed forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
     5  Balsam fir
    14  Northern pin oak
    15  Red pine
    17  Pin cherry
    20  White pine - northern red oak - red maple
    21  Eastern white pine
    22  White pine - hemlock
    23  Eastern hemlock
    25  Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
    26  Sugar maple - basswood
    27  Sugar maple
    28  Black cherry - maple
    30  Red spruce - yellow birch
    31  Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
    32  Red spruce
    33  Red spruce - balsam fir
    34  Red spruce - Fraser fir
    35  Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
    39  Black ash - American elm - red maple
    42  Bur oak
    43  Bear oak
    44  Chestnut oak
    46  Eastern redcedar
    58  Yellow-poplar - eastern hemlock
    59  Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
    60  Beech - sugar maple
    62  Silver maple - American elm
    75  Shortleaf pine
    76  Shortleaf pine - oak
    78  Virginia pine - oak
    93  Sugarberry - American elm - green ash
   107  White spruce
   108  Red maple


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Mapleleaf viburnun is a dominant or codominant understory species in
many beech-maple (Fagus-Acer) forests in the northeastern and midwestern
United States [6,17,25].

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
The fruits of mapleleaf viburnum are eaten by white-tailed deer,
rabbits, mice, skunks, ruffed grouse, ring-necked pheasants, wild
turkeys, and many species of songbirds [1,9].  The twigs, bark, and
leaves are eaten by white-tailed deer, moose, rabbits, and beavers [9].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
The dense undergrowth of mapleleaf viburnum provides good nesting and
escape cover for numerous species of birds and small mammals [9,24].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Mapleleaf viburnum has been cultivated since 1736 for its attractive
flowers and foliage [24].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Mapleleaf viburnum is a large, deciduous, rhizomatous shrub from 3 to 6
feet (1-2 m) tall [11,24].  It has a straight trunk with spreading,
ascending branches, and forms dense thickets.  The maple-like leaves
are 3 to 5 inches (7.5-12.5 cm) long.  The flowers are arranged in flat
upright clusters.  The fruit is a one-seeded drupe [4,10].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Mapleleaf viburnum begins to produce seed at approximately 2 years of
age, and produces large amounts of seed every year.  The seed is
dispersed by animals and by gravity [9].

Most mapleleaf viburnum seeds have an impermeable seedcoat and exhibit
embryo dormancy that requires a warm-cold stratification sequence to be
broken [9].

Mapleleaf viburnum probably reproduces vegetatively by rhizomes [19].



SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Mapleleaf viburnum occurs in upland forests, woodlands, ravine slopes,
and hillsides [12,15,21].  It occurs in well-drained, moist soils and is
particularly tolerant of acid soils [4,9].

Common understory associates of mapleleaf viburnum include witchhazel
(Hamamelis virginiana), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), eastern
hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), low sweet blueberry (Vaccinium
angustifolium), Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia),
sassafras (Sassafras albidum), and striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
[15,17,25].  


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Mapleleaf viburnum is a mid- to late-seral species [16,19].  It is shade
tolerant and requires partial shading for optimum growth and development
[9,14].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Mapleleaf viburnum flowers from May to August, depending on location.
Fruits ripen from July to October [9,11]. 

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Mapleleaf viburnum is not well adapted to fire.  Fire is harmful to
mapleleaf viburnum at both short and long return intervals [3].

Presumably, low- to moderate-severity fires top-kill mapleleaf
viburnum.  It probably survives fire by sprouting from underground
rhizomes. 


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous shrub, rhizome in soil
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Presumably, fire top-kills the aerial portions of mapleleaf viburnum.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Following a prescibed fire in a pine-mixed woodwood forest in Ontario,
mapleleaf viburnum decreased in both frequency and biomass [20].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum 



REFERENCES : 

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       eastern forest. Wilson Bulletin. 92(1): 63-73.  [10004]

 .  Braun, E. Lucy. 1961. The woody plants of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State
       University Press. 362 p.  [12914]

 .  Brown, James H., Jr. 1960. The role of fire in altering the species
       composition of forests in Rhode Island. Ecology. 41(2): 310-316.  [5935]

 .  Chapman, William K.; Bessette, Alan E. 1990. Trees and shrubs of the
       Adirondacks. Utica, NY: North Country Books, Inc. 131 p.  [12766]

 .  Clewell, Andre F. 1985. Guide to the vascular plants of the Florida
       Panhandle. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University Press. 605 p. 
       [13124]

 .  Eggler, Willis A. 1938. The maple-basswood forest type in Washburn
       County, Wisconsin. Ecology. 19(2): 243-263.  [6907]

 .  Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
       Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p.  [905]

 .  Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
       1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
       ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p.  [998]

 .  Gill, John D.; Pogge, Franz L. 1974. Viburnum L.   Viburnum. In:
       Schopmeyer, C. S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the United States.
       Agriculture Handbook No. 450. Washington: U. S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service: 844-850.  [7775]

.  Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of
       northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New
       York Botanical Garden. 910 p.  [20329]

.  Godfrey, Robert K. 1988. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of northern
       Florida and adjacent Georgia and Alabama. Athens, GA: The University of
       Georgia Press. 734 p.  [10239]

.  Host, George E.; Pregitzer, Kurt S. 1992. Geomorphic influences on
       ground-flora and overstory composition in upland forests of northwestern
       lower Michigan. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 22: 1547-1555. 
       [19671]

.  Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
       of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
       American Geographical Society. 77 p.  [1384]

.  Kudish, Michael. 1992. Adirondack upland flora: an ecological
       perspective. Saranac, NY: The Chauncy Press. 320 p.  [19376]

.  Lutz, H. J. 1930. The vegetation of Heart's Content, a virgin forest in
       northwestern Pennsylvania. Ecology. 11(1): 2-29.  [14480]

.  Milne, Bruce T. 1985. Upland vegetational gradients and post-fire
       succession in the Albany Pine Bush, New York. Bulletin of the Torrey
       Botanical Club. 112(1): 21-34.  [8682]

.  Nichols, George E. 1913. The vegetation of Connecticut. II. Virgin
       forests. Torreya. 13(9): 199-215.  [14069]

.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

.  Roberts, Mark R.; Christensen, Norman L. 1988. Vegetation variation
       among mesic successional forest stands in northern lower Michigan.
       Canadian Journal of Botany. 66(6): 1080-1090.  [14479]

.  Sidhu, S. S. 1973. Early effects of burning and logging in pine-mixed
       woods. I. Frequency and biomass of minor vegetation. Inf. Rep. PS-X-46.
       Chalk River, ON: Canadian Forestry Service, Petawawa Forest Experiment
       Station. 47 p.  [7901]

.  Soper, James H.; Heimburger, Margaret L. 1982. Shrubs of Ontario. Life
       Sciences Misc. Publ. Toronto, ON: Royal Ontario Museum. 495 p.  [12907]

.  Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern
       Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
       Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
       Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p.  [20090]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
       National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
       SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p.  [11573]

.  Vines, Robert A. 1960. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of the Southwest.
       Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. 1104 p.  [7707]

.  Wilm, H. G. 1936. The relation of successional development to the
       silviculture of forest burn communities in southern New York. Ecology.
       17(2): 283-291.  [3483]

Related categories for Species: Viburnum acerifolium | Mapleleaf Viburnum