Guelder-rose
Guelder-rose
Shrub
A native shrub of damp hedgerows whose 'lacecap' flower heads ring showy white blooms around tiny real ones — followed by glossy, translucent red berries and fiery autumn leaves.
💡 Fun Facts
- Its flower heads are clever: a ring of big showy white flowers on the outside acts like a sign, guiding insects to the tiny real flowers in the middle.
- In autumn it is hung with bunches of glossy, see-through red berries that shine like beads.
- Its leaves turn fiery red and purple in autumn, so the whole shrub seems to glow.
📅 Through the Year
- Flowering:May to July
- Fruiting:September to November
Name Story
Viburnum opulus
means “the maple-leaved viburnum”
likely meaningScholars aren't sure what either part of the Latin name truly means — both are old borrowed words. (The English name 'guelder' comes from Gelderland in the Netherlands, nothing to do with the Latin.)
What does its name mean?
- Viburnum — an old Latin tree-name of unknown meaningLatin — originally the name of a different plant, the wayfaring tree
- opulus — an old borrowed name, probably once a word for a mapleLatin
Both halves of this plant's Latin name are old and mysterious. The best clue is in the second word, opulus, which was most likely once a name for a maple — borrowed here because the guelder-rose's leaves have three lobes that really do look maple-like.