Plant ID - Hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium)

 I'm trying to improve my plant identification. In general, I find that most hunters don't pay nearly enough attention to plant id. So here's trying to change that starting yours truly. 

When I first saw this plant while scouting around Tunis Pond two weeks ago, I got pretty excited. At that time, the berries had yet to open and all that was visible was the large seedpods, which I surmised held bundles of wild hazelnuts (Corylus cornuta). Since wild hazelnuts are a staple food for bear, I reasoned that the area would soon be swarming with bears once the hazelnuts appeared. Two weeks later, I return and found that some of these hazelnut trees were actually bearing (not intended) fruit, not nuts as expected. Still not wanting to except the reality of the situation, I further reasoned that the plants that held berries likely did so because the plant was a specific gender, say, female and that the males must be the ones that produce the bear-inducing nuts. 

My confidence in that analysis finally eroded today (for no particular reason beyond time and the general reasoning capabilities that comes with it) and so I went to google and searched "native plants Catskills." Lo & behold there is actually an organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the public's knowledge of native plants in the Catskills. It's called the Catskill Native Plant Society and they have a facebook page. It is there that I found a picture of my wild hazelnut tree. As expected, it's not a wild hazelnut; it's a hobblebush, Viburnum alnifolium (or lantanoides). Some more info can be found here. Some reports mention that bears will eat the fruit, but I doubt it's a bear magnet  like wild hazelnuts. We will see. 

Here is what the wild hazelnut looks like:

http://hudsonvalleygeologist.blogspot.com/2010/07/witch-hazel.html

The main difference between the wild hazelnut and the hobblebush appears to be the leaf margin and a slight variation in the overall shape of the leaf. There's probably some differences in the overall plant in regards to size, form, and branching structure as well, but I don't have comparative photos and it's really not necessary. The plants covering the area around Tunis Pond are not hazelnuts; they are hobblebushes. Although I'm disappointed to not be hunting over wild hazelnuts, at least I learned a couple new plants. It will be interesting to see if the bears hit the hobblebush in the upcoming weeks. Or, with an improved eye, I can actually find a wild hazelnut tree. They do prefer the same habitat:  moist, shady woodlands along streams. 

Here's more pics of the hobblebush: 

I should mention that their fruits will actually turn black when they are fully ripe. I tried a couple of the berries. They are a little sweet but mostly bland and unmemorable.