Bodnant snowball
The Bodnant snowball ( Viburnum × bodnantense Aberc. Ex Stearn ), also called winter snowball or scented snowball , belongs to the genus snowball ( Viburnum ) within the musk herb family (Adoxaceae). It is used with some varieties in the temperate latitudes as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens. It was first published in 1947 by Henry Duncan McLaren Aberconway in William Thomas Stearn : Gardeners' Chronicle , Series 3, Volume 122, Page 207.
Origin of the hybrid
The Bodnant snowball ( Viburnum × bodnantense Aberc. Ex Stearn ) is a hybrid of the parent species Viburnum farreri Stearn , Syn .: Viburnum fragrans Bunge (scented snowball) and Viburnum grandiflorum Wall. ex DC. This breed was created around 1934/1935 in Bodnant, North Wales , which is reflected in the species name. However, Charles Lamont, Assistant Curator of the Botanical Garden in Edinburgh had already crossed the two parent species in 1933 , but found the resulting offspring to be no better than their parent species and refrained from further reproduction. After his death, a variety was named 'Charles Lamont' in his honor.
description
The Bodnant snowball is a deciduous shrub that reaches heights of about 2.5 to 3.5 meters and can cover an area of two to three meters. Bodnant snowball is a shallow root and forms runners up to a meter from the base . The young twigs, which initially grow stiffly upright, branch out sparsely and hang over arching as older twigs. The initially shiny red-brown bark occasionally flakes off in thin layers of cells on older branches. The bark is covered with isolated lenticels .
The against-constantly standing in clusters on the branches leaves are divided into a red, up to two centimeters long petiole and leaf blade. The simple leaf blade is elongated-elliptical or lanceolate with a length of four to ten centimeters. The upper side of the leaf is matt deep green and wrinkled. The leaf margin is sawn. There are six to nine deeply impressed pairs of nerves . When budding, the leaves are tinged with reddish and in autumn they turn red-brown to purple hues.
The first flowers appear, depending on the weather and location, as early as November on the perennial, still leafless branches, while the main flowering time is in March and April. The flowers stand together in terminal, umbrella-like inflorescences. The very strongly fragrant flowers are five-fold. The buds are a strong pink; When they bloom, the flowers turn lighter and lighter in color, up to a delicate pink or, depending on the variety, white. Heavy frost, especially late frost, can damage the flowers. The pollination is done by insects. Dark blue, slightly frosted stone fruits are formed. Fruits, leaves and bark are poisonous to humans.
use
The Bodnant viburnum can be found as a specimen and hedge plant in gardens and parks. This winter bloomer, which, depending on the location and weather, begins to bloom in autumn, is often used to bring color and fragrance to gardens and parks during this time of the year. There are some varieties such as Dawn , Deben , Charles Lamont .
More pictures
Pollen, microscopic, colored
Inflorescence with open five-fold flowers
Flower buds
Leaf shoots in spring
Autumn leaves
Individual evidence
- ↑ Viburnum × bodnantense in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ a b c d data sheet at Baumkunde.de .
- ↑ Gordon Cheers (Ed.): Botanica: The ABC of plants. 10,000 species in text and images . Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2003, ISBN 3-8331-1600-5 (therein Viburnum × bodnantense on page 918).
