What viburnum is this?

Question

There is an 1 m high and wide viburnum in my garden. It is in its second year in my garden, but it looks to me 4 or even 5 years old. It is still gradually growing.

The story of the seller (the owner of a small nursery): He says that he got it because a customer required that particular kind of viburnum, but the customer meanwhile changed his mind, so this was a kind of leftover plant in the nursery, and the only of its kind. However, he was not able to tell me its latin name. The price was good, I bought it, and the plant surprizingly liked very much its new 85% sunny place in my garden, and the rich clay it was dropped in.

Here are photos:

The underside of a leaf:

Young leaves:

Its first and ONLY flower:

Continental Europe, zone 7a. Photos taken today, at sunset.

Can you perhaps decipher the latin name of this plant?

Answer 1

Most likely Viburnum opulus var. americanum, previously called Viburnum trilobum, an American native - this particular variety is quite unusual in Europe. It is deciduous, and usually produces red berries in autumn if grown in sufficient sunlight. An easy to grow Viburnum compared to some; further information along with comparison of the leaves of Viburnum opulus and V. opulus var. americanum shown in this link https://landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu/plants/viburnum-opulus

Answer 2

This is likely to be Viburnum opulus or guelder rose based on your location. There are many cultivars which have the same white flowers in a ball shape. The species has the flat plate of white flowers in your photo when young.

This plant grows as understory in forests to 4 to 5 M tall but usually smaller.

As a garden plant this Viburnum does not have much to recommend it. Sam Thayer said the European highbush cranberry

“…is so bitter that I think it is stretching the truth to call it edible. Ingestible, perhaps, as medicine, but not edible.”

This plant is naturalized or considered invasive across Canada and the United States where it is common to see all the leaves eaten by the Viburnum Leaf Beetle (Pyrrhalta viburni P.).

A better choice in North America is Viburnum trilobum or the cultivar Viburnum trilobum "Wentworth" which has more edible berries and is less attractive to pests.