Guelder Rose

Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus) is a deciduous shrub that’s part of the Adoxaceae (moschatel) family and native to Europe, North Africa and Central Asia.

Similar in appearance to field maple, guelder rose has a lifespan of 25-50 years and can reach 4-5m in height while spreading 2-5m outwards. You can identify its:

- Broad, three-lobed leaves of 5-10cm with serrated edges

- Creamy white or pink flowers that appear from May to July

- Bunches of bright, round, red berries (7-10mm) in autumn

- Smooth, green-brown bark

Guelder rose leaves appear from May and turn red or orange-yellow in autumn. Its berries are mildly toxic when raw but used in cooking to make jams and jellies. Its bark is claimed to cure cramp (‘cramp bark’).

Wildlife-wise, the berries provide food for birds while the flowers attract hoverflies and the canopy houses various insects and other beasties. Soil-wise, Viburnum opulus is tolerant but prefers it moist and slightly alkaline.

Our ‘biodiversity mix’ of hedgerow for planting includes 5% guelder rose.

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Guelder rose’s name originates in the Dutch region of Gelderland. Its other names for include snowball tree, water elder, dogberry, European cranberry bush… and cramp bark.

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Guelder rose berries attract birds including bullfinches, blackbirds and mistle thrushes. They eat the berries and disperse the seeds in droppings.

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The Viburnum beetle is known for hungrily defoliating guelder rose shrub.

By Hectonichus- Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12795025

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The presence of guelder rose suggests ancient woodland –undisturbed woodland old enough to have evolved its own community and thatprovides habitat for threatened species.

By Nilfanion -Wikimedia UK, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47645640

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