The ribbed, nearly rounded, paired leaves of southern arrow-wood stand out on this native viburnum. In late spring, look for large flat-topped clusters of tiny white flowers, borne at the end of a twig. They develop into dark berries by autumn.

The usual habitat for this shrub is in wooded areas with moist, well-drained soils.

A non-native look-alike is Linden arrow-wood (Viburnum dilatatum) which, however, is quite velvety on the leaves and has red berries in autumn. Though its leaf shape varies, Linden arrow-wood can have leaves with nearly the same rounded shape that southern arrow-wood has.