Plant Profile: Black Haw

Viburnum prunifolium

Also, Known As:

• American Sloe
• Black Haw
• King’s Crown
• Sheepberry
• Snowball Tree
• Stagbush

The American plant known as the black haw is native to the American continent, and it is believed to have been in traditional use for the preparation of many types of herbal remedies as well as a source of food by the original Native Americans – though documentation is scarce. The black haw is a shrub or more correctly a small deciduous tree which can reach a height of five to fifteen feet when fully mature. The plant is characterized by its red-brown bark and the grooved branches. The black haw plant also bears a number of characteristic flat-topped white flowers and in the season many shiny and blue-black berries, the black haw berries are very juicy and used in many Native American food preparations.

The herbal literature does not have too many details on…