European Cranberrybush Viburnum, Guelder-rose          vi-BER-num OP-u-lus

• Broadleaf deciduous shrub, 8-12 ft (2.1-3.5 m), upright, spreading, arching branches.  Leaves opposite, 5-10 cm long, as wide or wider, with pointed lobes, a few disk-like glands on grooved petiole.   May develop yellow-red or reddish-purple colors in fall.  Flowers white, in 5-5.5 cm flat-topped clusters (cymes), those in the outer ring are 2 cm across, showy, and sterile; the inner ones are fertile, inconspicuous, with yellow anthers.  Fruit is globose, 6 mm diam., bright red in fall, may persist into winter as red "raisins".
• Sun to part shade.  One of the easiest viburnums to grow, but often infested with aphids.   Adaptable to extremes of soil and pH.  Fruits best in full sun.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 3      Native to Europe, including Britain, northern Africa and northern Asia.  Cultivated from at least the 17th century.  Caution: It has invasive tendencies and it is found in the wild from Newfoundland to southern British Columbia and south to Virginia, eastern Nebraska, western South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. (http://www.invasive.org/)
• The similar species native to North America is Viburnum trilobum   [American Cranberrybush Viburnum], but more recently this plant is classificed as a variety (varietas, var.) of Viburnum opulus (ie., Viburnum opulus var. opulus), and designated Viburnum opulus var. americanum.
• opulus: a reference to its name "Opulus of Dioscorides" given by Jean Ruel (1474-1537), French botanist.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: west side of Gilbert Hall.