Viburnum tinus


Viburnum tinus is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae, native to the Mediterranean area of Europe and North Africa. Laurus signifies the leaves' similarities to bay laurel.

Description

It is a shrub reaching tall and broad, with a dense, rounded crown. The leaves are evergreen, persisting 2–3 years, ovate to elliptic, borne in opposite pairs, 4–10 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with an entire margin.
The flowers are small, white or light pink, produced from reddish-pink buds in dense cymes 5–10 cm diameter in the winter. The fragrant flowers are bisexual and pentamerous. The flowering period is in winter, or from October to June in the northern hemisphere. The five petals are tubular, with rounded, rounded corolla lobes and pink in the bud, later white. There is only one circle with five stamens. Pollination is by insects. The fruit is a dark blue-black drupe 5–7 mm long.
Leaves have domatia where predatory and microbivorous mites can be housed.

Habitat

It grows mainly in the Mediterranean Maquis shrubland and in oak forests. It prefers shady, moist areas, at an altitude of above sea level. It is native to the Mediterranean basin: North Africa, Near East, Southern Europe. Also found in the Azores and the Canary Islands.

Cultivation

Viburnum tinus is widely cultivated for its winter blooms and metallic blue berries. It is hardy down to. The cultivars ‘Eve Price’, ‘French White’ and ‘Gwenllian’ have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Other uses

V. tinus has a very beneficial medicinal property. The active ingredients are viburnin and tannins. Tannins can cause stomach upset. The leaves when infused have antipyretic properties. The fruits have been used as purgatives against constipation. The tincture has been used lately in herbal medicine as a remedy for depression. The plant also contains iridoid glucosides.

Pests

In south-east Britain Viburnum tinus is the principal host of the viburnum beetle, the country's "number one pest species" according to the Royal Horticultural Society.

Subspecies

There are three subspecies: