The Main Plant entry for Viburnums (Viburnum)

There are about 120 to 150 species of this genus with the greatest number from East Asia, a good number from Europe-Western Asia-North Africa, and a good number from North America. They range from small shrubs to small trees where most are deciduous, but a number are evergreen or semi-evergreen. The leaves are simple and opposite. The buds and twigs can be smooth and glossy or very hairy, scurfy, and rough. Crushed leaves or twigs often are stinky or a little bit stinky. The flower clusters are white to pink to rose in colour and the clusters range from flat to semi-round to rounded. Some flower clusters are all of the same, small, perfect, fertile flowers while other species bear both small, fertile flowers and larger infertile flowers like a lacecap hydrangea. Some species bear very fragrant flowers, some slightly fragrant, some slightly stinky, and some very stinky. The fruits are drupes (fleshy, cherry-like fruit structures) that can be yellow, orange, pink, red, blue, or black, and usually are eaten by birds. There are about ten species native to eastern North America that are sold by conventional or native plant nurseries in the US and about ten species and hybrid species from East Asia and two from Europe sold by conventional nurseries in the US. They make good quality to high quality shrubs or small trees grown for pretty foliage, good fall colour, pretty flowers, pretty fruit, and good habit with being clean and neat and not messy, (like most honeysuckles).

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"Viburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of shrubs or (in a few species) small trees in the moschatel family, Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the family Caprifoliaceae.

The leaves are opposite, simple, and entire, toothed or lobed; cool temperate species are deciduous, while most of the warm temperate species are evergreen. Some species are densely hairy on the shoots and leaves, with star-shaped hairs.

The flowers are produced in corymbs 5–15 cm across, each flower white to cream or pink, small, 3–5 mm across, with five petals, strongly fragrant in some species. The gynoecium has 3 connate carpels with the nectary on top of the gynoecium. Some species also have a fringe of large, showy sterile flowers round the perimeter of the corymb to act as a pollinator target.

The fruit is a spherical, oval or somewhat flattened drupe, red to purple, blue, or black, and containing a single seed; some are edible for humans (though many others are mildly poisonous to people). The leaves are sometimes eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.

Many species of viburnum have become popular as garden or landscape plants because of their showy flowers and berries, fragrance, and good autumn colour of some forms."

Taken from wikipedia's page at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V...

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