Maple-leaved Viburnum, Viburnum acerifolium, started to bloom around the middle of May here in South-central PA. It’s a woody shrub that can flower from a single stalk as a young plant. When this viburnum gets a little older, it may flower profusely with clusters at the ends of each branch on the larger plants.
![viburnum-maple-flower-clusters Clusters of maple-leaved viburnum flowers.](https://wildeherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/viburnum-maple-flower-clusters-300x299.jpg)
![viburnum-maple-flower-clusters2 Flower cluster and leaf of maple-leaved viburnum.](https://wildeherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/viburnum-maple-flower-clusters2-300x262.jpg)
Flowers occur in flat-topped clusters at the branch tips. Leaves are similar in shape to maple tree leaves, thus giving this understory shrub its name.
![viburnum-maple-flower-cluster-leaves Maple-like leaves in pairs.](https://wildeherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/viburnum-maple-flower-cluster-leaves-296x300.jpg)
Flower buds are pink to white in color, while the inner flower parts are mostly creamy white.
![viburnum-maple-flower-buds-pink Pink flower buds of maple-leaved viburnum.](https://wildeherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/viburnum-maple-flower-buds-pink-300x211.jpg)
Pink flower buds of Maple-leaved Viburnum open up into white flowers with long stamens projecting upward. Anthers on the tips of the stamens make the flower clusters looked dotted.
A few viburnums listed in Peterson’s Edible Plant Guide are edible, but others in the Viburnum genus have bitter fruit. No medicinal qualities were noted in Peterson’s Medicinal Plants Guide
.