VIBURNUM, in botany, a genus of the trigynia order, belonging to the pentandria class of plants. There are nine species, of which the most remarkable are, 1. The lantana, common viburnum, wayfaring, or plant mealy tree, rises with a woody stem, branching twenty feet high, having very plant shoots covered with a lightish-brown bark; large heart-shaped, veined, serrated leaves, white and hoary underneath; and the branches terminated by umbels of white flowers, succeeded by bunches of red berries. It grows naturally in England in hedges, &c. 2. The opulus, or gelder-rose; consisting of two varieties, one with flat-flowers, the other globular. The former grows eighteen or twenty feet high, branching opposite, of an irregular growth, and covered with a whitish bark; large lobated or three-lobed leaves on glandulose foot-stalks, and large flat umbels of white flowers at the ends of the branches, succeeded by red berries. Grows naturally in England in marshy places. The latter grows fifteen or eighteen feet high, branching like the other, garnished with large lobated or three-lobed leaves, on glandular foot-stalks; and large globular umbels of white flowers at the ends of the branches, in great abundance. This tree when in bloom exhibits a singularly fine appearance: the flowers, though small, are collected numerously into large globular umbels round like a ball; hence, it is sometimes called snowball-tree. 3. The tinus, common laurel-tinus, or evergreen viburnum; grows eight or ten feet high or more, branching numerously from the bottom upwards, assuming a close bushy growth, with the branches somewhat hairy and glandulous; very closely garnished with oval, wholly entire leaves, of a strong green colour, placed in pairs opposite; and whitish and red flowers, collected numerously in large umbellate clusters all over the plant, at the sides and ends of the branches, from January until March or April, exhibiting a most beautiful appearance. There are a great many varieties; narrow-leaved—broad-leaved—shining-leaved—hairy-leaved—white-striped-leaved—yellow-striped-leaved; all of which are of shrubby, bushy growth, closely garnished with leaves all the year, and producing a great profusion of
umbellate flowers in winter and spring. All the different species of viburnum, both deciduous and evergreen kinds, being of the tree kind, are woody and durable in root, stem, and branches. They may all be propagated by layers; and are of such hardy temperature, as to grow freely in the open ground all the year, in shrubberies, and other hardy plantations.