Wayfaring Tree

Description

Viburnum lantana

The wayfaring tree is a deciduous shrub which can reach up to 5m in height. Wayfaring trees are found in scrub, hedgerows and woodland edges, especially those on chalky soils.

Groups of oval, flattened berries which start off red then turn black. Both colours can often be seen together. They are poisonous.  Birds will eat the berries and insects such as hoverflies feed on the nectar. The larvae of several moth species will feed on the leaves.

Its strong bendy stalks used to be used to tie hay bales, and there is evidence that, in Europe at least, its straight wood was used to make arrows. In September 1991, the well-preserved body of a hunter was found who had died in the Austrian Alps around 4,000–3,500 BC. Much of his clothing and equipment were intact, and his quiver contained arrows made from the stems of the wayfaring tree – used because they are long, straight and rigid, of a diameter suitable for arrow shafts.