Plant Family: Adoxaceae
Growth Form: A many-stemmed shrub up to 4 meters high, each stem is long and straight, resembling an arrow shaft.
Leaves: Opposite, simple, ovate, coarsely toothed, veins prominent and depressed; the bottom surface may or may not have fine hairs.
Bark: Gray to brown with small scales.
Flowers: Small, white, in dense flat-topped clusters up to 10 cm across; late May to June.
Fruits: Berry-like green drupes that ripen to blue in August and September.
Habitat: Woodland edges, wet or dry thickets.
Range: Common throughout New England, west to the Great Lakes, and south to northern Florida and Texas.
Similar Species: Downy Arrowwood has similar leaves, but with very short petioles, and stipules are typically present. Additionally, it is uncommon to rare in most of New England.
