Burkwood viburnum

Description

Viburnum burkwoodii, the Burkwood viburnum, is a hybrid flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae). It is a cross of garden origin between V. carlesii and V. utile, grown for its early, strongly scented flowers. Growing to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall and broad, V. burkwoodii is a deciduous shrub with glossy, dark green oval leaves on well-branching, stiff stems. The sweetly scented flowers are pinkish white, borne in spring, and followed later in the season by red fruits ripening to black. The specific epithet burkwoodii refers to the 19th century hybridisers, Arthur and Albert Burkwood. Numerous cultivars have been developed, of which ‘Mohawk’ and 'Park Farm Hybrid' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Viburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. The member species are evergreen or deciduous shrubs or (in a few cases) small trees native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with a few species extending into tropical montane regions in South America and southeast Asia. In Africa, the genus is confined to the Atlas Mountains. The generic name Viburnum originated in Latin, where it referred to V. lantana. 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 three connate carpels with the nectary on top of the gynoecium. Some species also have a fringe of large, showy sterile flowers around 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, but many others are mildly poisonous. The leaves are eaten by the larvae of many Lepidoptera species. Birds eat the berries of Viburnum obovatum (also called Walter Viburnum after Thomas Walter).