Viburnum propinquum Check with George is the wild Yunnan parent

is the wild Yunnan parent of the hardy williamsii hybrids

That natural rot-resistance comes from the same volatile terpenoids that give the crushed foliage a sweet

Recent genetic work tells a different story

which carries the soft lemony scent of the myrtle family when crushed

Viburnum propinquum Check with George is the wild Yunnan parentA viburnum grown for the leaves rather than the flowers, and one of the rarest evergreens in the American nursery trade. Viburnum propinquum was described by the botanist William Hemsley in 1888 from the temperate forests of China, and the plant ranges through central and southern China, Taiwan, and north to Luzon in the Philippines. The species name comes from the Latin propinquus, meaning near or akin, a botanist's nod to the plant's close kinship