Viburnum opulus var. americanum is a large, caney shrub with maple-shaped leaves and drooping clusters of edible and brilliant red late-summer berries.  With a little sugar, the berries, high in Vitamin C, lose their tartness and are great in jams and spreads.
 
     American Cranberry Bush is a larval host to Spring Azure, Hummingbird Clearwing and other moth species, and it attracts butterflies and songbirds and provides nesting structure for native bees.  The berries also provide winter food for birds and pheasants.
 
     American Cranberry Bush typically takes on a rounded form and makes a great hedge or screen. Try it against a foundation or along the edges of the woods.
 
     As with most viburnums the flat-topped, spring flowers appear in clusters with small fertile flowers surrounded by lacy, infertal blooms intended to wave pollinators in for the bounty of nectar.
 
     Fall foliage is a stunning purplish-red. 
 
     Two or more bushes is recommended for fruit.