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Viburnum rhytidophyllum Hemsl.

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Credits

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

Recommended citation
'Viburnum rhytidophyllum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/viburnum/viburnum-rhytidophyllum/). Accessed 2026-05-18.

Family

  • Viburnaceae

Genus

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
bud
Immature shoot protected by scales that develops into leaves and/or flowers.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
umbel
Inflorescence in which pedicels all arise from same point on peduncle. May be flat-topped (as in e.g. Umbelliferae) to spherical (as in e.g. Araliaceae). umbellate In form of umbel.

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 rhytidophyllum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/viburnum/viburnum-rhytidophyllum/). Accessed 2026-05-18.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

A very large Viburnum rhytidophyllum at Lotherton Hall, Leeds, UK (June 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

An evergreen shrub 10 to 20 ft high, and more through; the stout branches thickly covered with starry down. Leaves ovate-oblong, 3 to 71⁄2 in. long, 1 to 21⁄2 in. wide, pointed or blunt at the apex, rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base, upper surface glossy, not downy, but deeply and conspicuously wrinkled, lower one grey with a thick felt of starry down; stalk 1⁄2 to 11⁄4 in. long. Flowers produced on large terminal umbel-like trusses 4 to 8 in. across, which form into bud in the autumn and remain exposed all through the winter, and until the blossoms expand the following May or June. They are a dull yellowish white, about 1⁄4 in. diameter. Fruits oval, 1⁄3 in. long, at first red, then shining black. Bot. Mag., t. 8382.

Native of central and western China; introduced by Wilson for Messrs Veitch in 1900. It is hardy, and flowers well in spite of forming its inflorescences and partially developing them in autumn. Its beauty is in its bold, wrinkled, shining leaves; the flowers are dull and not particularly attractive. In previous editions it was called ‘one of the most distinct and striking, not only of viburnums but of all the newer Chinese shrubs.’ But this praise only applies to plants grown in a good soil and a sheltered position. Wind-tattered or starved plants are downright ugly, and are responsible for the execration in which this species is held by some gardeners. The plant at Borde Hill in Sussex, mentioned in previous editions as 20 ft high and 30 ft across, enjoyed an exceptionally good soil as it grew in the former kitchen garden.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Foliage of Viburnum rhytidophyllum (Lotherton Hall, Leeds, UK, June 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The flowers of Viburnum rhytidophyllum do nothing to alleviate its ugliness (Braywick Park, Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK, April 2011). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Viburnum rhytidophyllum inflorescence (private garden, York, UK, May 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The flowers of Viburnum rhytidophyllum form into bud in the autumn and remain exposed all through the winter, and until the blossoms expand the following May or June. Meise Botanic Garden, Belgium. 10 May 2009. Image Robert Combes.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The flowers of Viburnum rhytidophyllum are produced in large terminal umbel-like trusses 10 to 20 cm across, which form into bud in the autumn. Meise Botanic Garden (Acc number 19800269), Belgium. 16 March 2022. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Viburnum rhytidophyllum in fruit at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (19081035*C; from Wilson 220A). 5 September 2021. Image Tom Christian.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The multiple stems of the large Viburnum rhytidophyllum at Lotherton Hall, Leeds, UK span some two metres at ground level (June 2022). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Close up on the brown bark of a mature specimen of Viburnum rhytidophyllum at Meise Botanic Garden (Acc number 19800269), Belgium. 16 March 2022. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Viburnum rhytidophyllum.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

Foliage on Viburnum rhytidophyllum SABE 649, taken from a plant at the RBG Edinburgh, UK – 16 August 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The larger leaves on Viburnum rhytidophyllum SABE 649, easily exceed 30 cm in length (RBG Edinburgh, UK – 16 August 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The stout branchlets on Viburnum rhytidophyllum are thickly covered with starry down (RBG Edinburgh, UK – 16 August 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum

The glossy, deeply and conspicuously wrinkled lamina upper surface on Viburnum rhytidophyllum SABE 649 (RBG Edinburgh, UK – 16 August 2012). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

f. roseum Hort

Flowers pink in the bud, becoming white flushed with pink. This has probably been raised in several gardens. The name was originally given to a plant grown by Mrs Sebag-Montefiore in her garden near Plymouth (Gard. Chron., Vol. 104 (1938), p. 171 and supplementary illustration).

'Variegatum'

Adding to the demerits of the species, ‘Variegatum’ has irregular splashes of white in its foliage. It has been in cutivation since 1935, but as Edwards and Marshall (2019) say, it is ‘Of curiosirty value only.’ We feel one would be very curious indeed to wish to grow it.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum 'Variegatum'

Viburnum rhytidophyllum 'Variegatum' (Bluebell Arboretum, Derbyshire, UK, June 2024). Image John Grimshaw.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum 'Variegatum'

Viburnum rhytidophyllum 'Variegatum' has irregular splashes of white in its foliage. Jardin de Kerdalo, Brittany, France. 7 July 2022. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

Viburnum rhytidophyllum 'Variegatum'

Viburnum rhytidophyllum 'Variegatum' has been in cultivation since 1935, but remains rare. Jardin de Kerdalo, Brittany, France. 7 July 2022. Image Guillaume Mamdy.

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