Hi! I live in Hyde Park, Chicago, but I am originally from Southcentral Alaska, where Viburnum edule grows wild. The berries of V. edule ("highbush cranberries") are fantastic for jelly and other products. Here in Illinois, I came across a large bush yesterday in a neighbor's yard which I believe is Viburnum trilobum. It's loaded with beautiful berries which have the same structure, oblong seed and distinctive musty scent as V. edule. If my neighbors are willing, I would love to pick and process the berries– Is there anywhere in Chicago proper (I have no car) where I might take some leaves/berries for a positive ID? I'm certain these are Viburnum. It'd just be nice to be sure they are not the European variety, V. opulus. (This seems unlikely, as V. opulus is known to be bitter, and a careful taste of a small amount of juice left on my fingers after investigating the structure & seed of one berry revealed not even a trace of bitterness.) Any advice would be much appreciated!

The leaves of V. opulus can look similar to V. trilobum except they tend to have more-toothed lobes. You can check out the Cook County extension website to see if there is an office near you. www.web.extension.illinois.edu/cook/ You might also be able to google images to see the differences.

Thanks much for your reply! I went ahead and picked a couple quarts of the berries, and though their flavor is perhaps not as fine as that of wild Alaskan V. edule, I really don't think I'm dealing with the European opulus variety– all sources say that the drupes of V. opulus tend toward a bitter, medicinal taste and are considered all but inedible. One source I found just now has photos comparing the petiolar glands on the leaves of V. opulus & V. trilobum; I took a few complete leaves and stems with my picking, so that I could do an image search. I'll have to pull them out (put them in the fridge with the berries) in the morning to take a look at the glands. I feel pretty confident that I've got V. trilobum, though.

Someone clearly planted this particular shrub, but I see that the city of Chicago lists V. trilobum as a native species occurring within Jackson Park, which is not far away at all.