Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) - fruit - July 2018

Guelder rose is a spreading shrub. It can reach up to 4m high and can spread from 2-5m. It has greyish, hairless stems. The leaves are opposite, simple, broad and three-lobed with coarse, serrated edges and sparse fine hairs on the underside. They are 5–10cm long, with a rounded base and coarsely serrated margins. In spring, the leaves are green, and they change to orange-yellow or red in autumn. The flowers are distinct, branched inflorescence of creamy-white, or sometimes pink, flat-topped flowers appear in May to July. Each cluster of flowers is encircled by a ring of larger, sterile, flowers. The fruits are round, translucent, bright red berries appear in autumn in hanging bunches. The three lobed leaves have leaf stems with a channel running down the centre and a pair of round glands near the apex of the leaf. The buds are green, hairless and have a pair of scales. Buds are pressed closely to the hairless twigs. The common name &rose&relates to the Dutch province of Gelderland, where a popular cultivar, the snowball tree, supposedly originated. Guelder rose grows in damp, neutral or calcareous soils at low altitudes throughout the UK, but is rare in Scotland. Look for it in damp places along riversides and in fens, damp scrub, old hedgerow and woods among Alnus and Salix thickets. It is planted in parks and gardens and plants which spread from these sites to the wild sometimes include yellow-fruited cultivars. The red berries are an important food source for...