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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 2026-01-15.

Family

  • Viburnaceae

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

There are no active references in this article.

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 2026-01-15.

Viburnum propinquum

Viburnum propinquum SICH 1873 Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, May 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

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:

Viburnum propinquum

Viburnum propinquum SICH 1873 in a foam of flowers (Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, May 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum propinquum

After the flowers, fruits in abundance on Viburnum propinquum SICH 1873 Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, May 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum propinquum

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

Viburnum propinquum

Fruits of Viburnum propinquum SICH 1873 Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, May 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum propinquum

Viburnum propinquum SICH 1873 Yorkshire Arboretum, UK, May 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum propinquum

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.

Viburnum propinquum

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.

Viburnum propinquum

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

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.

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