Viburnum

It is an evergreen shrub of up to 4 metres in height, with dense foliage and leathery, oval, glossy dark green leaves. From late autumn through winter it produces corymbs of very fragrant white or pink flowers, followed by small oval fruits that turn from metallic blue to black as they ripen.

It is native to the Mediterranean basin and southern Europe, where it grows wild in the understorey of holm oak woodlands and other scrub formations, tolerating partial shade well.

Its epithet «tinus» was the name already given to it by the Romans, meaning «wild laurel». Because it flowers in the depths of winter, when few other plants are in bloom, it has become a valuable resource for pollinators and a classic of ornamental gardening.