Looking for a small shrub species native to Canada and the northern parts of the US? Look no further than Viburnum edule, commonly known as the squashberry, mooseberry, pembina, highbush cranberry, lowbush cranberry, or moosomin in Cree language. With smooth gray bark, sharply toothed leaves, and few-flowered terminal cymes of milky-white flowers, this deciduous shrub can reach heights ranging from 2 to 12 feet. Its orange to red drupe fruit contains one seed and often overwinters on twigs. Squashberry may occur as a dominant or codominant understory species in open or closed coniferous forests or in deciduous forests with quaking aspen, paper birch, or balsam poplar. It is also an important component of forest-edge and hedgerow habitats, providing cover for small mammals and birds. Squashberries are a major food source for wildlife, including grizzly and black bears, elk, deer, rabbits, and songbirds.
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