Viburnum lantana
Table of Contents
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ffad9c4a9a535059502 |
| Scientific name | Viburnum lantana |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 268 (1753) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
Suggest a correction!
Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Viburnum lantana (L.) is a modest, native shrub whose leaves and bark have found a place in several European folk pharmacopeias. In Hungary, dried leaves are infused as a mild tea and taken as a diuretic to support kidney function (Chevallier, 1996). Hungarian folk‑medicine records also note that the bark is boiled into a decoction for coughs and bronchial irritation (Tóth, 2002). In the Carpathian region of Romania, especially in the Maramureș county, a bark decoction is prepared for respiratory complaints and is recorded in a regional ethnobotanical survey (Pop & Pop, 2015). In the Greek Peloponnese, local healers prepare a leaf infusion that is drunk after meals as a gentle digestive aid and for mild nervous tension (Stavrou, 2018). Across these cultures the plant parts used are clearly identified—young leaves for teas, mature bark for decoctions—showing a consistent pattern of aqueous preparations.
One practical way to capture the diuretic activity is a simple leaf tea. Use roughly 5 g of dried Viburnum lantana leaves (about a tablespoon) placed in a teapot; pour 250 ml of freshly boiled water over them, cover and steep for 5–7 minutes. Strain the liquid and drink up to 150 ml (about half a cup) two to three times a day. A safety note is important: the tea should not be used by pregnant or nursing women, and people taking prescription diuretics or antihypertensives should consult a health professional before adding this herb to their regimen.
The traditional effects align with the phytochemistry that has been documented for this species. Leaves and bark contain significant amounts of flavonoids such as quercetin‑3‑O‑rutinoside (rutin) and kaempferol glycosides, as well as phenolic acids like chlorogenic and caffeic acids (Sarac et al., 2014). Condensed tannins, particularly procyanidins, are abundant in the bark and contribute to its astringent quality (Alipieva et al., 2015). Additionally, the leaves have yielded iridoid glycosides including loganin, compounds known for mild anti‑inflammatory and diuretic properties in other medicinal plants (Alipieva et al., 2015). These well‑established constituents provide a plausible biochemical basis for the diuretic, expectorant and mild sedative actions reported by local healers.
While V. lantana remains a niche ingredient in a few regional herbal blends, modern research is beginning to verify its traditional profile; recent laboratory work has demonstrated antioxidant and anti‑inflammatory activity in leaf extracts (Sarac et al., 2014) and modest antibacterial effects of bark decoctions (Pop & Pop, 2015). Nonetheless, commercial preparations are rare, and the plant is still most often used in the household as a simple leaf tea or bark decoction by practitioners who value its long‑standing folk reputation.
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Jam, jelly, and other preserves made from the ripe drupes of Viburnum lantana. In some Central European regions the jam is marketed under local artisanal labels such as “wayfaring‑tree jam”.
Food and beverages (non‑medicinal):
The mature drupes, which turn dark blue‑black in late summer, have a sweet‑tart flavor and are harvested when fully ripe. They are processed into jam, jelly or syrup by boiling the fruit with sugar and, optionally, a small amount of lemon juice to increase acidity. Regional foraging guides record the fruit as suitable for preserves, and the product is sold as a specialty fruit spread.
Properties relevant to use:
The drupes contain sufficient soluble sugars (mainly fructose and glucose) to allow successful jam preparation without added sweeteners when fully ripe. The fruit provides natural gel‑forming agents typical of drupes, which aid gel formation during cooking. The deep coloration of the fruit gives the resulting jam a characteristic dark purple hue. The pH of the ripe fruit is mildly acidic (approximately 3.5–4.0), a characteristic that, together with the sugar content, promotes gel formation under typical jam‑cooking conditions.
Standards and regulation:
Products made from V. lantana fruit are subject to general food‑safety regulations for fruit preserves. In the European Union, jams must comply with EU Regulation (EC) No 2001/113/EC (jam directive), which sets minimum fruit content (≥ 40 % for jam) and minimum soluble‑solid levels (≥ 65 °Brix). Internationally, the Codex Alimentarius standard for jams, jellies and marmalades (CODEX STAN 117‑1985) provides comparable compositional requirements. Compliance with food‑safety management systems such as ISO 22000 is also typical for commercial producers.
Sustainability and sourcing:
Viburnum lantana is widely distributed across Europe, western Asia and north‑Africa, occurring in woodland margins, hedgerows and scrub. Regional assessments list the species as not threatened, and it is generally classified as “Least Concern” in European Red‑Lists. Wild harvesting of fruit is considered sustainable when limited to non‑dominant individuals, and the shrub is also cultivated as an ornamental plant, offering an additional, cultivated source of raw material for small‑scale processing.
Scientific and model use:
The complete chloroplast genome of V. lantana has been sequenced and deposited in public repositories (e.g., GenBank; accession details provided in the primary literature). The plastid genome (~156 kb) encodes a typical set of photosynthetic and housekeeping genes and serves as a reference for phylogenetic reconstruction within the Adoxaceae family. The sequence is used in comparative chloroplast genomics studies that address species relationships, hybridisation events and patterns of evolutionary diversification.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Viburnum farinosum | Stokes | Bot. Mat. Med. 2: 168 (1812) |
| Viburnum maculatum | Pant. | Oesterr. Bot. Z. 23: 266 (1873) |
| Viburnum aragonense | Pau | Not. Bot. Fl. Españ. 1: 15 (1887) |
| Viburnum tomentosum | Lam. | Fl. Franç. 3: 363 (1779) |
| Viburnum lantana var. europaeum | Aiton | Hort. Kew. [W. Aiton] 1: 372. 1789 |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | wayfaring tree |
| English | wayfaring-tree |
| English | wayfaringtree |
| Spanish | manzana |
| Spanish | matacán |
| Spanish | barbadejo |
| Spanish | barbaleña |
| Spanish | barbatijo |
| Spanish | barbatil |
| Spanish | barbatilla |
| Spanish | cabritilla |
| Spanish | carájula |
| Spanish | copos de nieve |
| Spanish | cornahuelo |
| Spanish | cornihuelo |
| Spanish | cuernahuelo |
| Spanish | flor de bandera |
| Spanish | manzano |
| Spanish | marmaratilla |
| Spanish | matacana |
| Spanish | matacano |
| Spanish | matagente |
| Spanish | mentironera |
| Spanish | morrionera |
| Spanish | morriones |
| Spanish | palo bruja |
| Spanish | pata de gallina |
| Spanish | patagallina |
| Spanish | pierno |
| Spanish | revienta gallinas |
| Spanish | uvas de perro |
| Spanish | vetilaina |
| Spanish | viburno |
| Spanish | viburno común |
| Spanish | vitilaina |
| Spanish | barbalena |
| Spanish | carajula |
| Spanish | viburno comun |
| Spanish | viburnum farinosum |
| an | chinchilaina |
| an | pitixaina |
| an | tintilaina |
| an | vetelaina |
| Arabic | رباطية صوفية |
| Arabic | رباطية لانتانية |
| Arabic | فيبرن |
| Azerbaijani | lantana başınağacı |
| azb | لانتانا باشین آغاجی |
| Belarusian | Каліна суцэльная |
| Belarusian | Каліна чорная |
| Bulgarian | черна калина |
| Catalan | tortellatge |
| Catalan | cochène |
| Catalan | lantane |
| Catalan | mancienne |
| Catalan | viorne mancienne |
| Czech | kalina tušalaj |
| Welsh | gwifwrnwydden |
| Danish | pibe-kvalkved |
| German | wolliger schneeball |
| German | cochène |
| German | lantane |
| German | mancienne |
| German | viorne mancienne |
| Esperanto | lentano-viburno |
| Esperanto | neĝbulo |
| Esperanto | lentano |
| Estonian | villane lodjapuu |
| Basque | marmaratilla |
| Persian | هفت کول |
| Persian | هفتکول |
| Finnish | villaheisi |
| French | cochène |
| French | lantane |
| French | mancienne |
| French | viorne lantane |
| French | viorne mancienne |
| French | viorne flexible |
| Irish | craobh fhiáin |
| Upper Sorbian | wołmjana kaledźina |
| Hungarian | ostorménbangita |
| Hungarian | ostornyélfa |
| Hungarian | ostorménfa |
| Armenian | գերիմաստի |
| Georgian | უზანი |
| Kazakh | Беті қышық |
| Cornish | gwinwydh |
| Lithuanian | cochène |
| Lithuanian | lantane |
| Lithuanian | mancienne |
| Lithuanian | viorne mancienne |
| Macedonian | црна удика |
| Norwegian Bokmål | filtkrossved |
| Norwegian Bokmål | filtkorsved |
| Dutch | wollige sneeuwbal |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | filtkrossved |
| oc | tatina |
| os | Нымæткъуы |
| pcd | puingne |
| Polish | kalina hordowina |
| Russian | Калина гордовина |
| Russian | Горд |
| Russian | Гордовик |
| Russian | Гордовина цельнолистная |
| Russian | Гордовое дерево |
| Russian | Калина чёрная |
| Slovak | kalina siripútková |
| Slovenian | dobrovita |
| Serbian | Црна удика |
| Swedish | parkolvon |
| Swedish | cochène |
| Swedish | lantane |
| Swedish | mancienne |
| Swedish | viorne mancienne |
| Turkish | tüylü kartopu |
| Turkish | germeşo |
| Ukrainian | Калина гордовина |
| Ukrainian | калина цілолиста |
| Ukrainian | гордовина |
| Chinese | 绵毛荚蒾 |
| Chinese | 黑果荚蒾 |
| Chinese | 黑果绣球 |
| Chinese | 黑果綉球 |
| Chinese | 綿毛莢蒾 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
-
Africa click to expand
-
Northern Africa
- Algeria
- Morocco
-
Northern Africa
-
Asia-temperate click to expand
-
Caucasus
- North Caucasus
- Transcaucasus
-
Western Asia
- Iran
- Turkey
-
Caucasus
-
Europe click to expand
-
Eastern Europe
- Central European Russia
- Krym
- Ukraine
-
Middle Europe
- Austria
- Belgium
- Czechoslovakia
- Germany
- Hungary
- Poland
- Switzerland
-
Northern Europe
- Great Britain
- Norway
- Sweden
-
Southeastern Europe
- Albania
- Bulgaria
- Greece
- Italy
- Kriti
- Romania
- Yugoslavia
-
Southwestern Europe
- France
- Spain
-
Eastern Europe
-
Northern America click to expand
-
Eastern Canada
- New Brunswick
- Ontario
- Québec
-
North-central U.S.A.
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
-
Northeastern U.S.A.
- Connecticut
- Indiana
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- New Jersey
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Vermont
-
Northwestern U.S.A.
- Colorado
- Montana
- Washington
- Wyoming
-
Southeastern U.S.A.
- Maryland
- Virginia
-
Eastern Canada
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000421166 |
| UNII | 84XKS1T5ZJ |
| Cornell Woody Plants | 272 |
| Canadensys | 2445 |
| USDA Plants | VILA |
| UConn | 528 |
| Tropicos | 6000173 |
| INPN | 129083 |
| Flora of Italy | 5145 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:326265-2 |
| The Plant List | kew-2455932 |
| Missouri Botanical Garden | 278956 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 572547 |
| Observations.org | 7632 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 237945 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000004326 |
| Nature Serve | 2.141805 |
| IPNI | 326265-2 |
| iNaturalist | 124741 |
| GBIF | 2888615 |
| Freebase | /m/0djnpm |
| WisFlora | 5371 |
| EPPO | VIBLA |
| EOL | 488697 |
| USDA GRIN | 41380 |
| Wikipedia | Viburnum_lantana |
| CMAUP | NPO11473 |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodity risk assessment of Ligustrum ovalifolium and Ligustrum vulgare plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 07-Mar-2024 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Corylus avellana plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 12-Jan-2024 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Quercus petraea plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 30-Oct-2023 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Quercus robur plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 30-Oct-2023 |
|
||||||
| The most polyphagous insect herbivore? Host plant associations of the Meadow spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius (L.) | Thompson V, Harkin C, Stewart AJ | PLoS One | 04-Oct-2023 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Fagus sylvatica plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Gardi C, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 28-Jul-2023 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Acer pseudoplatanus plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Gardi C, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 06-Jul-2023 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Acer palmatum plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Gardi C, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 06-Jul-2023 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Acer campestre plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Gardi C, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 06-Jul-2023 |
|
||||||
| Commodity risk assessment of Acer platanoides plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Vicent Civera A, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Gardi C, Iacopetti G, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 06-Jul-2023 |
|
||||||
| Effect of Microwave and Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction on the Phytochemical and In Vitro Biological Properties of Willow (Salix alba) Bark Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts | Aleman RS, Marcia J, Duque-Soto C, Lozano-Sánchez J, Montero-Fernández I, Ruano JA, Hoskin RT, Moncada M | Plants (Basel) | 03-Jul-2023 |
|
||||||
| Application of the extended theory of planned behavior in predicting the behavioral intentions of Iranian local communities toward forest conservation | Savari M, Khaleghi B | Front Psychol | 19-Jan-2023 |
|
||||||
| Environmental stress - what can we learn from chlorophyll a fluorescence analysis in woody plants? A review | Swoczyna T, Kalaji HM, Bussotti F, Mojski J, Pollastrini M | Front Plant Sci | 14-Dec-2022 |
|
||||||
| Walking around the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy): An Ethnobotanical Investigation | Cavalloro V, Robustelli della Cuna FS, Quai E, Preda S, Bracco F, Martino E, Collina S | Plants (Basel) | 29-Aug-2022 |
|
||||||
| Diversity of Ascomycota in Jilin: Introducing Novel Woody Litter Taxa in Cucurbitariaceae | Su W, Xu R, Bhunjun CS, Tian S, Dai Y, Li Y, Phukhamsakda C | J Fungi (Basel) | 26-Aug-2022 |
|
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |