This viburnum is a flowering shrub and gets about 10’ tall. It gets its common name from the report that the straight stems or strong sucker shoots were used by Native Americans for arrow shafts. The flower clusters turn into clusters of blue-black berries toward fall. Some years the birds really enjoy the berries, some years they do not. I have heard that they are bitter to the taste but have never had the urge to sample them.

Now about the fragrance. Generally viburnums are known for their very fragrant blooms. I have a Judd’s viburnum that has a heavenly scent. But this one – to be perfectly honest, the flowers smell like, well – vomit. It’s interesting that if you read fact sheets on the web about this variety of viburnum, no one mentions anything about the scent so there is no explanation of what the reason might be for the foul odor. One thing I did discover on my own – as the flower ages the smell actually does transform into a mildly pleasant scent (why does she continue to smell a stinky flower, you ask).