Viburnum opulus (Guelder-rose) is a species of Viburnum, native to Europe and Asia. Some botanists also treat the closely related North American species Viburnum trilobum as a variety of it (as Viburnum opulus var. americanum Ait.), or a subspecies, Viburnum opulus subsp. trilobum (Marshall) Clausen. Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families may not be a complete list Adoxaceae (moschatel family) Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle family) Diervillaceae Dipsacaceae (teasel family) Linnaeaceae (twinflower family) Morinaceae Valerianaceae (valerian family) The Dipsacales are an order of flowering plants, included within the asterid group of dicotyledons. ... Genera Adoxa - Moschatel Sambucus - Elder Viburnum - Viburnum The Adoxaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Dipsacales, as now constituted comprising three genera and about 150-200 species. ... Species About 150 species; see text Viburnum (Viburnum) is a genus of about 175 species of shrubs or (in a few species) small trees that were previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Species About 150 species; see text Viburnum (Viburnum) is a genus of about 175 species of shrubs or (in a few species) small trees that were previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... In botanical nomenclature, variety is a rank below that of species: As such, it gets a ternary name (a name in three parts). ... William Aiton (1731 - February 2, 1793) was a Scottish botanist. ... In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ...

Flowers (left) and fruit

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 4-5 m tall. The leaves are opposite, three-lobed, 5-10 cm long and broad, with a rounded base and coarsely serrated margins; they are superficially similar to the leaves of some maples, most easily distinguished by their somewhat wrinkled surface with impressed leaf venation. The leaf buds are green, with are valvate bud scales. viburnum opulus (photo Wouter Hagens) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... viburnum opulus (photo Wouter Hagens) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off) and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally. ... A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... Distribution Species See List of Acer species Maples are trees or shrubs in the genus Acer. ... Flower buds have not yet bloomed into a full-size flower. ...

The flowers are white, produced in corymbs 4-11 cm diameter at the top of the stems; each corymb comprises a ring of outer sterile flowers 1.5-2 cm diameter with conspicuous petals, surrounding a center of small (5 mm), fertile flowers; the flowers are produced in early summer, and pollinated by insects. The fruit is a globose bright red drupe 7-10 mm diameter, containing a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the fruit, then deposit the seeds in another location in their droppings. A Phalaenopsis flower Rudbeckia fulgida A flower, (<Old French flo(u)r<Latin florem<flos), also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). ... White-fruited Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens) corymb; note the branched structure A panicle is a compound raceme; a branched, indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers (and fruit) attached along the secondary branches (in another words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes). ... A flower-fly pollinating a Common Daisy (Bellis perennis) Pollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). ... Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species—more than all other animal groups combined. ... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ... The peach is a typical drupe (stone fruit) In botany, a drupe is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp or skin and mesocarp or flesh) surrounds a shell (the pit or stone) of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. ... A ripe red jalapeño cut open to show the seeds For other uses, see Seed (disambiguation). ... “Aves” redirects here. ...

Cultivation and uses

Snowball bush

It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant for its flowers and berries, growing best on moist, moderately alkaline soils, though tolerating most soil types well. Several cultivars have been selected, including 'Snowball' ("Snowball Tree"), in which all the flowers are only of the larger sterile type; it is more conspicuous in flower but does not produce any fruit. An ornamental plant is a plant that is grown for its ornamental qualities, rather than for its commercial or other value. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ...

Snowball bush flowers

Snowball bush is a name often given to Viburnum opulus for its white clusters of flowers that appear in spring. There is some confusion, as there are a few other bushes, including other members of the Viburnum genus, also referred to as "snowball bush". It is naturalised in North America, where it has been misleadingly re-named as "European Cranberrybush" (it is not a cranberry). In biology, naturalisation is the process when foreign or cultivated plants have spread into the wild, where they multiply by natural regeneration. ... Species Vaccinium erythrocarpum Vaccinium macrocarpon Vaccinium microcarpum Vaccinium oxycoccus Approximate ranges of the cranberries in sect. ...

The fruit is edible in small quantities, with a very acidic taste; it can be used to make jelly. It is however very mildly toxic, and may cause vomiting or diarrhoea if eaten in large amounts (Plants for a Future).

The dried bark is used in a tincture, known as "Cramp Bark," to alleviate painful menstrual cramps.

This herb is mainly used for treating feminine problems like aiding menstrual cramps, after birth, preventing miscarriages and internal hemorrhages and is used as an uterine sedative also.

References

• Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. Hodder & Stoughton.
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.
• Flora Europaea: Viburnum opulus
• Plants for a Future: Viburnum opulus