#232 (Sh.32) LEATHERLEAF VIBURNUM
Viburnum rhytidophillum
Planted: 1921
This shrub is on the southern side of the South Loop.
Purchased from Hillier Nurseries, Romsey, Hampshire in January 1921.
| Distribution: | Native to central and western China. |
| Habit: | Vigorous, coarsely textured evergreen shrub with an upright habit. |
| Leaves: | 20 cm long, lustrous, deeply veined oval leaves with dark blue-green surfaces and pale green undersides. Leaf stems are fuzzy brown. |
| Flowers: | In spring, fragrant creamy-white flowers bloom in clusters. |
| Fruit: | Blue berries form in June and become plump through September, maturing to glossy black. Plants grow 3.0 to 4.6 m tall and wide. |
| Comments: | Grown as an ornamental plant for its evergreen foliage and tolerance of deep shade. Introduced in 1900 by Ernest Henry Wilson for Veitch Nurseries, Exeter. |