vi-BER-num far-ER-i, FA-ra-ree
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
- Deciduous shrub, to 10 ft (3 m) tall, similar spread, upright, densely branches, branches red-brown. Leaves opposite, simple, obovate to oval, 4-7 cm long, tough, tip acute, base wedge-shaped or rounded, margin serrate, upper surface rough to the touch (scabrous) and dark green (bronze when young), 5-6 pairs of veins, pubescence on veins below; petiole 1-1.5 cm long, purplish. Flowers small, tubular, about 8 mm long and 10 mm wide, pink in bud then white, in 3-5 cm long dense clusters, very fragrant, appearing before the leaves, bloom occurs in in winter mild climates, early spring in colder areas. Fruit is red then black, ripening in early summer.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 5 Native to northern China. First introduced to the nursery trade by William Prudom in 1910 and later by Reginald Farrer. Received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Merit in 1925 and the Award of Garden Merit in 1993.
- farreri: after Reginald J. Farrer (1880-1920), horticultural writer who collected in China, Burma, and the Alps.
- Portland, Oregon: Elk Rock Gardens of the Bishop's Close.