Viburnum tinus

Taxobox
name = "Viburnum tinus"

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image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Viburnum tinus" flowers
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Dipsacales
familia = Adoxaceae
genus = "Viburnum"
species = "V. tinus"
binomial = "Viburnum tinus"
binomial_authority = L.

"Viburnum tinus" (Laurustinus, Laurustinus Viburnum, or Laurestine) is a species of flowering plant in the genus "Viburnum", native to the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia. "Laurus" signifies the leaves' similarities to bay laurel; "tinus" means "tenth born".

It is a shrub (rarely a small tree) reaching up to 2-7 m tall, with a dense, rounded crown. The leaves are evergreen, persisting 2-3 years, borne in opposite pairs, 4-10 cm long and 2-4 cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are white, produced in dense cymes 5-10 cm diameter in the winter. The fruit is a dark blue-black drupe 5-7 mm long.

There are three subspecies:
*"Viburnum tinus" subsp. "tinus". Mediterranean region.
*"Viburnum tinus" subsp. "rigidum" (syn. "V. rigidum"). Canary Islands.
*"Viburnum tinus" subsp. "subcordatum". Azores.

Cultivation and uses

It is a popular evergreen shrub widely cultivated for its winter flowering habit in regions with mild winters, grown in western Europe north to Britain, and in North America north to western British Columbia.

References

* [http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/cgi-bin/nph-readbtree.pl/feout?FAMILY_XREF=&GENUS_XREF=Viburnum+&SPECIES_XREF=tinus&TAXON_NAME_XREF=&RANK= Flora Europaea: "Viburnum tinus"]
*Eriksson, O., et al. 1979. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants