Corylopsis willmottiae Rehd. & Wils.

A deciduous shrub 6 to 12 ft high; young shoots brown, not downy, but with numerous small lenticels; winter buds pale shining green, stalked. Leaves 2 to 4 in. long, oval, obovate or roundish ovate; truncate or slightly heart-shaped at the base, short-pointed; dark bright green and glabrous above; rather glaucous beneath and downy, especially on the midrib and veins; veins in seven to ten pairs. Flowers soft greenish yellow and fragrant. Calyx, ovary, and fruit glabrous. Seeds shining black. Bot. Mag., n.s., t. 438.

Native of W. Szechwan, China; introduced by Wilson in 1909; first shown in flower at the Horticultural Hall, 5 th March 1912, as “C. multiflora”. The true plant of that name does not appear to be in cultivation. It was given an Award of Merit on that occasion and an F.C.C. in 1965, when shown from Borde Hill, Sussex. A graceful and very floriferous species. It is allied to C. sinensis and some plants so labelled in gardens may be C. willmottiae. However, in that species the young branchlets are downy and the leaf-stalks densely so. See also C. platypetala.