Arrowwood

Photo: Ted Bodner, Southern Weed Science Society/James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service — CC BY 3.0 us · source

Survives zone 3 through 8

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Fruit is bitter and dry-fleshed, eaten mainly by birds — not a species grown for the crop, though historically the straight young stems (hence "arrowwood") were used by Indigenous peoples for arrow shafts.

Hardiness

Zone 3–8

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Sept–Oct

Mature size

1.8–3 m tall and wide

Light

Full sun to part shade

Soil pH

5.0–8.0 (acidic to alkaline), adaptable

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Eastern North America, from New Brunswick to Georgia and west to Michigan — moist woods, thickets, streambanks and swamp margins.

Status

Both wild and cultivated

Years to fruit

3–4 yrs

Growth speed

Moderate to fast

Spacing

250 cm (98 in) apart — about 6.3 m² (67 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Broadly ovate, 5–10 cm, coarsely toothed, glossy

Root system

Fibrous, suckering to form dense colonies

Fruit description

Blue-black drupes, ~8 mm, bitter, dry flesh over a flattened stone

Propagation

Softwood or semi-hardwood cuttings in summer, seed (double dormancy), or division of suckers.

Pollination

Insect-pollinated (bees, flies) and self-fertile.

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.