In North America you will find this 8 to 12 foot deciduous shrub in much of woodlands of the eastern United States. Viburnum is known as Kalyna in the Ukraine and is very much a part of their folk tradition pictured in embroidery work, mentioned in folk songs, and in Slavic mythology. One of the earliest documented examples of adulteration in botanical medicine in the US occurred with this plant. The bark was made official in the U.S. Pharmacopeia in 1894 and was included in the National Formulary in 1916. Widespread adulteration by mountain maple (Acer spicatum) and other Viburnum species led to confusion about the correct source plant. A later review surveyed the botanical, chemical, and pharmacological differences between black haw and cramp bark.