Viburnum propinquum Hemsl.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Viburnum propinquum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/viburnum/viburnum-propinquum/). Accessed 2024-09-14.

Genus

Viburnum

Infraspecifics

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

glabrous: Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
lanceolate: Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
ovate: Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
perfect: (botanical) All parts present and functional. Usually referring to both androecium and gynoecium of a flower.
section: (sect.) Subdivision of a genus.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Viburnum propinquum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/viburnum/viburnum-propinquum/). Accessed 2024-09-14.

Emerging foliage of Viburnum propinquum (Batsford Arboretum, Gloucestershire, UK; 4 April 2023). Image Julian Sutton.

An evergreen shrub of bushy habit, with glabrous, shining, angular young shoots. Leaves three-veined, ovate-lanceolate to oval, wedge-shaped or rounded at the base, pointed, shallowly and sparsely toothed, 2 to 31⁄2 in. long, 3⁄4 to 11⁄4 in. wide, dark glossy green and glabrous; stalk 1⁄4 to 5⁄8 in. long. Flowers greenish white, 1⁄6 in. across, all perfect, produced in usually seven-branched cymes 11⁄2 to 3 in. wide. Fruits blue-black, egg-shaped, 1⁄5 in. long.

Native of Central and Western China, Formosa and the Philippines; discovered by Henry and introduced by Wilson for Messrs Veitch in 1901, and again later. It is hardy at Wakehurst Place in Sussex and at Exbury on the Solent, but needs a sheltered position. Even on one plant the leaves vary in shape; forms with consistently narrow leaves have been distinguished in gardens by the epithets angustifolium and lanceolatum. It is distinct from all other cultivated viburnums except V. davidii and V. cinnamomifolium, but the former is dwarf and the latter has uniform, broader, scarcely toothed leaves.

The following belong, like V. propinquum, to the section Tinus, but neither is common in cultivation:

Foliage on Viburnum propinquum GUIZ 222, from a plant at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK (29 April 2013). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Leaves on Viburnum propinquum GUIZ 222, with the lamina elliptic, strongly three-veined, but compared to V. cinnamomifolium and V. davidii, the basal secondary veins often do not run into the apical part of the blade (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 29 April 2013). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

The lamina lower surface of Viburnum propinquum is usually glabrous (GUIZ 222, Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 29 April 2013). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Viburnum propinquum GUIZ 222, with the lamina margin sparsely irregularly denticulate (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 29 April 2013). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

V atrocyaneum C.B.Cl.

Synonyms
V. wardii Hort., not W.W. Sm

Leaves oblong, entire or indistinctly toothed, pinnately veined, about 3 in. long. Inflorescence almost sessile. Fruits about {3/16} in. long, hard, dark blue with a metallic lustre. Described from a specimen collected by Griffith in the Mishmi Hills of Assam. Most plants in cultivation derive from Kingdon Ward’s 9198, collected in 1931 a short distance farther east, in the Adung valley of northwest Burma. He wrote in his field note: ‘Berries small, steely blue, with a curious lustre, giving an effect of lalique. The winter contrast of red stems, dark green leaves, and bunches of gleaming opalescent fruits is charming. Found up to 7,000 ft, usually on open cliffs and ridges in full sun.’

Foliage on Viburnum atrocyaneum, leaves with the lamina elliptic to ovate-oblong, from a plant at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK (31 July 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Slender, minutely pubescent branchlet on Viburnum atrocyaneum (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 31 July 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Delicate venation pattern on the lamina lower surface of Viburnum atrocyaneum (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 31 July 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Viburnum atrocyaneum has leaves with the lamina minutely denticulate (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 31 July 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

V calvum Rehd.

Synonyms
V. schneiderianum Hand.-Mazz

Leaves shortly stalked, narrowly ovate to rhombic-elliptic, to about 3 in. long and 1{3/4} in. wide, entire or with a few callous teeth, glabrous, glossy, veins five to eight on each side, deeply impressed above. Flowers white or cream-coloured, in rounded terminal corymbs about 3 in. wide, on peduncles 1 to 1{3/4} in. long. Fruits blue-black, about {1/4} in. long. A native of southwest China, described from a specimen collected by Henry in southern Yunnan; introduced by Forrest. It has long been grown at Exbury and has been distributed under its synonymous name. It is the probable pollen-parent of ‘Jermyns Globe’ (see under V. davidii).

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