Cornus ?

[Rick R.]

I asked someone here in the USA, and he confirmed:
Twinberry honeysuckle, Lonicera involucrata.

I tried the thread test, too, on Cornus mas - the only cornus I have.  Didn't work on the first leaf, but I tried again, more carefully and pulled apart very slow.  Yes, there are the threads that are just as Carolyn says.

Went around trying it on other things in my yard:
Hamamelis
Salix
Quercus
Liriodendron
Calycanthus
Betula
Dirca
Magnolia
Viburnum
Aralia
Epimedium
Lonicera
Euonymus
And some vines:
Clematis
Apios

None worked except one out of four spp. of Salix and one out of five spp. of Viburnum.  Even so, threads never got longer than 5mm, and it wasn't consistent.

Viburnum

[Carolyn]

Rick,
I wish you hadn't discovered that for the viburnum! I tried this method to help ID a Chris Chadwell seed collection shrub from the Himalayas which he described merely as "unidentified shrub with blue fruits". The cornus leaf test worked on it, so I thought  I had at least narrowed it down to cornus.
My shrub is collection no CC7412, from Chris's 2013 expedition. Is anyone else growing this? It's rather nice, with its red stems - which made me think cornus. Does anyone know what it might be?

[Diane Whitehead]

Carolyn, the vein pattern is helpful in identifying trees.  Could you post a close-up of a leaf?

[Carolyn]

Photo of unidentified shrub with blue fruits, CC7412, from 2013 expedition to Himalayas.

By the way, Diane, the cornus leaf test does work on Cornus kousa - I've just tried it. You must have been tearing the leaf too violently. You need to pull it apart very gently.

[Rick R.]

Looks pretty Cornus like to me, but I certainly don't know to many shrubs/trees beyond zone 5 hardiness.  Any pics of fruit, flowers, inflorescence structure, winter buds?

[Carolyn]

No, the plant isn't old enough to flower yet and I have no winter pictures of it. I haven't planted it out in the garden yet as I would like to know its growing requirements. I guess semi-shade might be a reasonable bet.