Common name: Sweet Viburnum
Viburnum odoratissimum Ker Gawl. APNI* Description: Evergreen shrub or small tree to 10(–15) m high; bark grayish-brown; branchlets green or reddish (current year’s growth), or gray or gray-brownish with dispersed, small, raised lenticels (previous year’s growth); branchlets, petioles and inflorescences glabrous or stellate-pubescent.
Leaves elliptic, oblong, or oblong-obovate to obovate, sometimes semiorbicular, 7–20 cm long, 4–9 cm wide; apex shortly acute and mucronate, or obtuse or sub-rounded; base broadly cuneate, rarely rounded; margins irregularly serrate toward , or sub-entire; upper surface becoming intense green and lustrous; lower surface sometimes with sparse, dispersed dark red minute glands; both surfaces glabrous or sparsely stellate-pubescent on veins; petiole 10–20(–30) mm long; stipules absent.
Inflorescences paniculate, pyramidal, terminal or on short lateral branchlets, (3.5–)6–13.5 cm diam., lax; bracts lanceolate to ovate; 1–2 mm long, caducous, leaflike, greenish, sparsely hairy; bracteoles scalelike. Flowers fragrant, sessile or shortly pedicellate. Calyx tubular-campanulate, glabrous; tube 1.5–4 mm long; lobes broadly triangular, c. 1 mm long. Corolla white aging to yellow-white, sometimes reddish, rotate, 7 mm diam., glabrous; lobes 2–3 mm long. Stamens slightly exserted beyond corolla lobes, inserted at apex of corolla tube. Styles included; stigmas capitate or slightly 3-lobed.
Drupe ovoid or ovoid-ellipsoid, 8 mm long, 5–6 mm wide, initially red, maturing to black.
Distribution and occurrence: Native to China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Cultivated widely globally. Garden escape.
NSW subdivisions: *NC
Currently recorded on the north coast as naturalised. It is probable that it has escaped in other areas as well.
Text by Louisa Murray, edited by Kerry Gibbons 25 May 2023.
Taxon concept: Flora of China Vol. 19 Page 571, 585, 589
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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