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| ## nannyberry {#nannyberry .Title-Header}                             |
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| *Viburnum lentago* L.                                                 |
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| Plant Symbol = VILE                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & the Biota of
North America Program

### 

## Alternate Names

Sheepberry, wild raisin, sweet viburnum, nanny-berry

## Uses

Nannyberry is shade-tolerant species useful in landscape plantings as
shrub borders, taller barriers, hedges, and windbreaks. It produces good
seasonal displays of flowers, fruits, and fall leaf color and the fruit
are eaten by many species of birds and wildlife. Cultivars are not
commonly available.

## Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

## Description 

*General*: Honeysuckle family (Caprifoliaceae). Native, multi-stemmed
shrubs or small trees growing to 9 m high, somewhat open at maturity and
leggy at the base, the crown irregular to rounded, often suckering at
the base; bark dark gray to black, forming a pattern of small blocks.
Leaves are deciduous, simple, opposite, elliptic-obovate to ovate, 5-10
cm long, long-pointed, glabrous or nearly so on both sides, the petiole
with a wavy-winged margin, margins finely toothed; mature foliage dark
glossy, green, becoming deep maroon to red in the fall. Flowers are
small, all bisexual, creamy white, in flat-topped clusters 5-12 cm wide.
Fruit in hanging clusters, berry-like (a drupe), oval to nearly round,
10-15 mm long, changing from green to yellow, pink, rose and finally to
blue-black, sweet and edible, with an odor of wet sheep wool when ripe
and rotting, with a single, smooth, nearly flat stone.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.4930555555555554in"
height="1.679861111111111in"}

## Distribution

Across northeastern North America, from New Brunswick and Quebec to
Saskatchewan, south to Colorado and Nebraska (rare), Missouri (extinct),
West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, rare in the Appalachians in Maryland
and Virginia and apparently disjunct in Georgia. For current
distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on
the PLANTS Web site. A detailed distribution map is also provided by
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (2000).

## Adaptation 

Common habitats for nannyberry are low woods, swamp borders, and rich
valleys at or near streambanks, usually in rich loam to clay-loam soil.
It also occurs in moist soil of wooded slopes and other upland sites,
sometimes even in sandy or rocky soil. It is a shade-tolerant understory
shrub, but reaches relatively larger size in partial openings or along
edges. Flowering occurs in May-June and fruits in July--September.

## Establishment

Reproduction is primarily by seed. Suckering from the base can replace
and add to main stems. The "leggy" habit sometimes allows lower branches
to fall over -- they root where touching the ground.

## Management

Nannyberry is one of the more shade-tolerant woody plants, but it also
grows well in open sites. It is tolerant of both moist and dry soils. It
is easily transplanted and established and can be propagated by
cuttings. Although the growth habit is primarily a multi-stemmed shrub,
it can be maintained as a small tree by pruning stems and removing basal
suckers.

## Pests & Potential Problems

Nannyberry is susceptible to powdery mildew where air circulation is not
good. Infected plants are not killed but the leaves can be discolored
and disfigured in late summer and fall.

*Viburnum leaf beetle*. The viburnum leaf beetle (*Pyrrhalta viburni*),
native to Europe and Asia, was first encountered in North America in
1947, perhaps arriving earlier from Europe on nursery plants. It
received little notice until 1978, when it caused severe defoliation of
ornamental viburnums in Ontario and Quebec. It has now reached western
New York and Maine and become a concern in urban landscapes and
nurseries.

The adult and the larva "skeletonize" leaves by feeding on the leaves
between the midrib and larger veins. Plants, which have been defoliated
for 2-3 consecutive years, may be killed. The preferred host is
*Viburnum opulus* and its selections; lesser damage is caused to *V.
lantana* and *V. acerifolium*, *V. dentatum*, *V. lentago*, and *V.
rafinesquianum*. Other species, particularly *V. rhytidophyllum* and *V.
carlesii*, are relatively unaffected.

The entire life cycle of the viburnum leaf beetle takes about 8-10
weeks. Larvae hatch in early May and feed on the viburnum leaves
throughout the larval period, which lasts 4-5 weeks. The larvae pupate
in the soil. The adults (4.5-6.5 mm long, brown) appear by mid-July and
continue eating the leaves, then mate and lay over-wintering eggs on the
twigs. Egg-laying holes are in a straight line on the underside of the
current season\'s growth.

Chemical control of the viburnum leaf beetle is best applied to young
larvae, because adults will fly away or drop to the ground if disturbed.
If over-wintering egg sites are found, affected wood should be pruned
and destroyed before the eggs hatch. Examine upper and lower leaf
surfaces for feeding larvae. Potential biological control mechanisms are
being studied.

## Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These plant materials are readily available from commercial sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

## References

Brumbaugh, J.H. & A.T. Guard 1957. *A study of evidences of
introgression among Viburnum lentago, V. prunifolium and V. rufidulum
based on leaf characteristics* (Abstr.). Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci.
66:300.

Donoghue, M. 1980. *Flowering times in* *Viburnum*. Arnoldia 40:2-22.

Donoghue, M. 1983. *A preliminary analysis of phylogenetic relationships
in Viburnum (Caprifoliaceae s.l.)*. Syst. Bot. 8:45-58.

Egolf, D.R. 1962. *A cytological study of the genus Viburnum*. J. Arnold
Arb. 43:132-172.

Friedlander, Jr, B.P. 1999. *Voracious viburnum leaf beetle munches into
Ithaca area*. Cornell Chronicle.
\<http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicles/6.17.99/leaf_beetle.html\>

Hauser, E.J.P. 1965. *Characteristics and distribution of Viburnum
(Caprifoliaceae) in Georgia*. Bull. Ga. Acad. Sci. 23:(11 pages).

Jones, T.H. 1983. *A revision of the genus Viburnum sect. Lentago
(Caprifoliaceae)*. Ph.D. diss., North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh,
North Carolina.

Kessel, C. 2000. *Viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull), in
the nursery and landscape*. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and
Rural Affairs, Ontario, Canada. Web site.
\<http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/facts/vlb.htm\>

McAtee, W.L. 1956. *A review of the Nearctic* *Viburnum*. Published by
the author, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Niering W.A., G.D. Dreyer, F.E. Egler, & J.P.J. Anderson 1986.
*Stability of a Viburnum lentago shrub community after 30 years*. Bull.
Torrey Bot. Club 113:23-27.

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 2000. *Viburnum lentago*.
NPWRC, Biological Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey, Jamestown,
North Dakota. Web site.
\<http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/plntguid/species/vibulent.htm\>

## Prepared By

*Guy Nesom*

Formerly BONAP, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

## Species Coordinator

## *Gerald Guala*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited 17jan01 jsp; 060818 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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