General: Honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). Native shrubs 0.5-2 m high, rhizomatous and forming

thickets; twigs pubescent. Leaves deciduous, ovate or orbicular, mostly deeply 3-lobed, 5-12 cm broad, coarsely toothed, lower surface minutely black-dotted, nearly glabrous to thinly pubescent with stellate hairs. Flowers white, bisexual, 4-6 mm wide, in upright, flat-topped clusters 4-7 cm wide. Fruit berry-like (drupes), 6-8 mm long, nearly black, with a single stone.

Variation within the species:

No varieties are currently formally recognized within V. acerifolium – previous named varieties within the species have described vaguely discernible and widely overlapping geographic trends of morphological variation.

V. acerifolium var. acerifolium

V. acerifolium var. densiflorum (Chapm.) McAtee

V. acerifolium var. glabrescens Rehd.

V. acerifolium var. ovatum (Rehd.) McAtee

Distribution: Widely distributed in eastern North America, New Brunswick (rare), Quebec, and Ontario south through Wisconsin, Illinois, and Arkansas to Florida and eastward into east Texas. For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.