Viburnum-- Witch Hobble

I couldn’t let the name ‘witch hobble’ go without searching for some information. And so I'll share what I found. Viburnum lantanoides, or witch hobble, is in the honey suckle family, and therein lies part of the explanation for its fun name, even though this variety appears to be a shrub rather than a vine. It is also known as hobble bush and the folk tale goes that it was used by witches to trip those passing by. It has other fun names, depending on where you live, among them, tangle foot, tangle legs, trip-toe, dog berry (it has red berries in the fall), devil’s shoestring and mooseberry.

The names of native plants are rich with folklore, culture, history and imagination which makes them all the more special and intriguing. Stories are intriguing. Nature has lots of stories to tell.