NATIVE RANGE: Eastern North America

FIRST FINDING IN SLOVENIA: 1890

PATHWAYS: horticulture

POSSIBLE TO FIND: yearround

FLOWERING SEASON: May – June

DESCRIPTION: A large, branched, deciduous shrub. The bark on young branches is smooth and brownish-yellow, greyish-brown and shedding in long strips on older branches. Its alternate leaves are simple and palmately compound with 3 to 5 lobes with serrated margins. Leaves are dark green above, slightly paler below, in cultivated forms also red or yellowish-green. Flowers are white, about 1 cm across, borne in dense hemispherical clusters. Each of the five pistils develops into a small pointed follicle, which contains many seeds. Follicles, borne in dense hemispherical clusters, are initially green to yellowish-brown, turning red when ripe.

HABITAT: Grows in stony and sandy soils, often on gravel and river banks.

STATUS: Occurs locally throughout Europe; possibly under-reported because of its similarity to native shrubs.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus), hawthorns (Crataegus spp.) and currants (Ribes spp.) all have similarly shaped leaves. Guelder rose has opposite leaves, fruits are bright red, fleshy berries. Leaves of currants are usually smaller and have finely serrated leaf margins. Fruits are round, black or red berries.

SOURCE: Field Guide to Invasive Alien Species in European Forests