Fragrant Viburnum

Description:

I was checking on the flowering status of a native tree (that as it turns out is still several days away from bursting out) and as I was loading my gear back into my vehicle, I started to again smell this amazing fragrance I had noticed earlier when I had first arrived. The fragrance was not too sweet or overwhelming, but, well, wonderful. Looking around I didn't see too many possibilities other than a tall shrub with white clusters of snowball-like flowers planted on the east and northern side of a nearby senior citizen center, and partly obscured by some Austrian pines. These shrubs were over 85 feet (26 meters roughly) away from where I was parked.The shrubs are deciduous with dense and fairly lush foliage and were growing to a height of easily 8 to 10 feet tall. The plant is Viburnum carlesii, a member of the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family), and native to Korea and Japan. Some other common names include Korean Spicebush and Koreanspice Viburnum. The leaves turn to a dull or somewhat lighter red in the fall.There is a cultivar called "Aurora" that is much shorter in stature and has leaves that turn to a burgundy red to orange in the fall.And when in flower, their fragrance can be detected from a great distance.April 17, 2014, Salt Lake County, Utah