Viburnum plicatum

Viburnum plicatum

''Viburnum plicatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae , native to mainland China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Growing to 3 m tall, it is a deciduous shrub. The leaves are opposite, 5–10 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, simple ovate to oval, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in flat corymbs 5–10 cm in diameter, comprising a central cluster of fertile yellowish-white flowers 5 mm diameter, surrounded by a ring of showy, sterile flowers 2–3 cm diameter, which act as a target guide to pollinating insects. The fruit is an ovoid blue-black drupe 8–10 mm long.

Plants from Taiwan are sometimes distinguished as ''Viburnum plicatum'' var. ''formosanum'' Liu & Ou.

The Latin specific epithet ''plicatum'' means “pleated”, referring to the texture of the leaves.
Viburnum plicatum Non-native. The leaves had such an interesting texture - bumpy, soft, and fuzzy! When this shrub blooms, it will produce flat corymbs that are 5–10 cm (2–4 in) in diameter and are very attractive to pollinators. I went back to this area last week and spotted 11 different beetles, flies, and bees on this one shrub! Too bad I didn't have my camera. Habitat: Suburban area https://www.jungledragon.com/image/79737/viburnum_plicatum.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/79736/viburnum_plicatum.html Geotagged,Spring,United States,Viburnum plicatum

Uses

''Viburnum plicatum'' is a popular ornamental plant, both in its native area and elsewhere in temperate regions. Some of the more popular cultivars are selected for having all of their flowers large and sterile with few or no fertile flowers; their flowerheads resemble a snowball, giving them the popular name Japanese snowball bush. Cultivars of this type include 'Grandiflorum' and 'Rotundifolium'.

Cultivars with wild-type flowerhead structure are sometimes described as a separate botanical form ''V. plicatum'' f. ''tomentosum''. They include 'Cascade', 'Lanarth' and 'Rowallane'. Three cultivars in this group, 'Mariesii', 'Pink Beauty' and ‘Summer Snowflake’
have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassEudicots
OrderDipsacales
FamilyAdoxaceae
GenusViburnum
SpeciesV. plicatum
Photographed in
United States of America