Japanese Snowball Bush

Description:

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 3 m tall. The leaves are opposite, 5–10 cm long and 3–6 cm broad, simple ovate to oval, with a serrated margin. The flowers are produced in flat corymbs 5–10 cm diameter, comprising a central cluster of fertile yellowish-white flowers 5 mm diameter, surrounded by a ring of showy, sterile flowers 2–3 cm diameter, which act as a target guide to pollinating insects. The fruit is an ovoid blue-black drupe 8–10 mm long.

Habitat:

Found at Linnaeus Teaching Gardens, Tulsa, OK, USA.

Notes:

Native to eastern Asia, in mainland China, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.