Viburnum plicatum watanabei

Description

Viburnum plicatum (Japanese: yabudemari, oodemari), common name Japanese snowball, is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae), native to mainland China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.Growing to 3 m (10 ft) tall, it is a deciduous shrub. The leaves are opposite, 5-10 cm (2-4 in) long and 3-6 cm broad, simple ovate to oval, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in flat corymbs 5-10 cm (2-4 in) 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.