Alternate name: Witch-hobble, Hobblebush
Family: Caprifoliaceae, Honeysuckle view all from this family
Description This shrub has fragrant, flat-topped clusters of small, white flowers, the outer flowers larger than the inner ones.
Flowers: marginal ones to 1" (2.5 cm) wide; showy petals 5; no stamens or pistils. Clusters 2-6" (5-15 cm) wide.
Leaves: 3-8" (7.5-20 cm) wide, opposite, heart-shaped, with prominent veins, finely saw-toothed margins, and star-like, rusty hairs beneath.
Fruit: berry-like drupes, at first red, turning almost black.
Height: 3-10' (90-300 cm).
Flowering: May-June.
Habitat Shrub layer of cooler Northeast forests and higher elevations southward; stream banks; swamps.
Range Ontario to Nova Scotia; south to New England, northern New Jersey, and in the mountains of Georgia and Tennessee; west to Michigan.
Discussion This straggly shrub has beautiful bronze-red or purple- pink autumn coloration and is used by wildlife for food and cover. Gamebirds, songbirds and mammals eat the fruit; browsers eat the twigs and leaves. Its branches often bend and take root, tripping or "hobbling" passers-by; hence its common name.
