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Plant · P-921
Cramp Bark
Viburnum opulus
Cramp Bark is a hardy deciduous shrub grown for its lobed maple-like foliage, flat white lacecap flower heads, and tart red berries that substitute for cranberries in jellies and preserves once cooked. Its bark has a long history of use as an antispasmodic for cramps and menstrual pain. It tolerates a wide range of soils from sandy to heavy clay and full sun to light shade, but wants consistently moist ground and struggles where the soil dries out, and its bird-carried berries can seed new plants well beyond where it was planted.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–8
- Soil
- Sand · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moist · Wet
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 5.5–8
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 12–15 ft
- Mature spread
- 10–15 ft
- Plant spacing
- 6–12 ft
- Root type
- Fibrous-deep
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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