Tree · Caprifoliaceae
Small-leaf arrowwood
Viburnum obovatum
Small-leaf arrowwood is recorded as native to 4 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 90 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Key facts · USDA PLANTS
Small-leaf arrowwood at a glance
- Native in
- 90 counties, across 4 states and territories
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 7b PLANTS minimum temperature 3°F
- Mature height
- 12 ft PLANTS mature height
- Light and water
- Sun to part shade Moisture use not recorded
Estimated cold hardiness: zone 7b. PLANTS gives a minimum temperature of 3°F; zone 7b winters bottom out at 5°F, the coldest half-zone that stays within that limit.
Small-leaf arrowwood is recorded as native to 4 states and territories in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in 90 counties of those states by USDA PLANTS.
Counties where it is native
The 15 counties with the most ZIP codes among the 90 where it is listed.
Native counties by state
- Alabama 1 county
- Florida 52 counties
- Georgia 29 counties
- South Carolina 8 counties
Growing traits
Values from the PLANTS characteristics record. “Not recorded” means PLANTS has no value; nothing here is estimated except the zone.
Growth
- Growth habit
- Shrub, Tree
- Duration
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 12 ft
- Growth rate
- Not recorded
- Growth form
- Bunch
- Shape
- Erect
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Active growth period
- Spring
Light and water
- Shade tolerance
- Intermediate (sun to part shade)
- Moisture use
- Not recorded
- Drought tolerance
- Not recorded
- Tolerance of waterlogged soil
- Medium
- Precipitation range
- 33 to 90 in per year
Soil
- Soil textures
- Coarse
- pH range
- 5 to 7.5
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- Not recorded
- Salinity tolerance
- Not recorded
- Fertility requirement
- Low
- Minimum root depth
- Not recorded
Climate
- Minimum temperature
- 3°F
- Estimated cold hardiness
- Zone 7b and warmer
- Minimum frost-free days
- 263
- Fire tolerance
- None
Flowers, leaves and fruit
- Flower color
- Orange
- Showy flowers
- No
- Bloom period
- Early Spring
- Foliage color
- Dark Green
- Showy in fall
- No
- Keeps leaves
- No
- Fruit color
- Black
Other
- Toxicity
- Not recorded
- Nitrogen fixation
- None
- Nursery availability
- Not recorded
- Family
- Caprifoliaceae
- PLANTS symbol
- VIOB
Source & data date
- Source
- USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: county distribution records, native status and plant characteristics. CC0 (public domain dedication, per the data.gov catalog record).
- Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP): native or introduced status by state. CC BY 3.0.
- USGS US-RIIS (ver. 2.0): species listed as introduced are excluded. CC0.
- Citation
- USDA, NRCS. 2026. The PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov, 11/04/2026). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC USA.
- Govaerts R. (ed.) (2026). WCVP: World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Data file dated 2026-06-04, http://sftp.kew.org/pub/data-repositories/WCVP/ (retrieved 2026-11-04). Paper: Govaerts R. et al. (2021) The World Checklist of Vascular Plants, a continuously updated resource for exploring global plant diversity. Scientific Data 8, 215.
- Data date
- Retrieved from PLANTS on November 4, 2026; WCVP data file dated June 4, 2026.
- Scope
- Viburnum obovatum (PLANTS symbol VIOB).
- Method
- A species is listed when it is recorded as native to the state in Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants and USDA PLANTS, and recorded in the county by USDA PLANTS. Species PLANTS labels both native and introduced are listed separately. Full method · All sources