Viburnum nudum is a deciduous shrub in the genus Viburnum within the family Viburnaceae (it was formerly part of the family Caprifoliaceae).Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
One variety of the species is Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides; synonyms for this variety Viburnum nitidum Aiton, Viburnum cassinoides, Viburnum cassinoides var. harbisonii, Viburnum cassinoides var. nitidum, and Viburnum nitidum.NRCS PLANTS Database
Common names for the plant include -rod, witherod viburnum, possumhaw, and wild raisin.
Description Viburnum nudum is a shrub with opposite, simple leaves, on slender stems. The flowers are white, borne in late spring.
Range It is native to North America from southern Ontario and Quebec to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and west to Wisconsin.
It has been observed in habitats such as floodplains, hardwood stands, mesic woodlands, and in pine flatwoods.Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: July 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, H. Kurz, Ann F. Johnson, Angus Gholson, Wilson Baker, R. R. Smith, Robert K. Godfrey, Robert Kral, P. L. Redfearn, K. Craddock Burks, Bruce Hansen, G. Robinson, Andre F. Clewell, J. P. Gillespie, E. S. Ford, P. White, Bruce Nelson, L. B. Trott, Lloyd H. Shinners, Robert J Lemaire, A. G. Shuey, R.A. Norris, R. Komarek, Cecil R Slaughter, Michael Keys, Annie Schmidt. States and Counties: Florida: Bay, Calhoun, Clay, Columbia, DeSoto, Duval, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Osceola, Polk, Santa Rosa, St. Johns, Union, Wakulla, Walton. Georgia: Clinch, Thomas.
Ecology The fruit is eaten by wildlife, and deer browse the foliage. It is a larval host to spring azures and hummingbird clearwing moths.
Conservation status in the United States It is listed as endangered in Kentucky and Pennsylvania and as special concern species and believed extirpated in Connecticut."Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved December 23, 2017. (Note: This list is newer than the one used by plants.usda.gov and is more up-to-date.)
Native American ethnobotany Cuisine The Abenaki use the fruitRousseau, Jacques (1947). Ethnobotanique Abenakise, Archives de Folklore 11:145-182. and the grains of var. cassinoides for food. The Algonquin people eat the berries of var. cassinoides.Black, Meredith Jean (1980). Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65, page 107.
Medicinal use The Cherokee have several medicinal uses for Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. They take an infusion of it to prevent recurrent spasms, use the root bark as a diaphoretic and a tonic, and take a compound infusion of it for fever, smallpox and ague. They also use an infusion of the bark as a wash for a sore tongue.Hamel, Paul B. and Mary U. Chiltoskey, 1975, Cherokee Plants and Their Uses -- A 400 Year History, Sylva, N.C. Herald Publishing Co., page 62
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