A comparative morphological study of viburnum (Adoxaceae) in Korea

Abstract

Viburnum in Korea includes ten species. The phylogenetic relationships and morphology of the genus Viburnum in general have been studied substantially for the past three decades. A clear understanding of the systematic relationships and an assessment of the level of morphological variation of these plants distributed in Korea are lacking. This study investigated the morphology of these species using herbarium specimens and fresh materials obtained during fieldwork to examine the morphological variation level for a better understanding of each species in the genus. A comparative analysis showed that the species of Viburnum in Korea are easily distinguishable based on various characters of the bud, leaf, extrafloral nectary, inflorescence, corolla, fruit, and stone.