Origin: Europe and West of North America.
Habitat: sunny, dry soil.
Height: 3 m tall.

common ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius

shrub of the family Rosaceae

Etymology: Physocarpus means "fruit in the form of bladder". Opulifolius means "with opulus leaf" and alludes to the form of the leaf, which resembles that of the viburnum opulus.
Smooth, brown bark, shedding in rags (hence the name: "Nine-bark", meaning "nine bark layers").
Deciduous foliage: simple leaf and alternate, three-lobed, as the leaf of the viburnum-opulus (and of the maple with opulus leaves). Its margin is finely and erratically toothed. It is smooth on both faces. Its colour is dark green.
Flowers: small, white, grouped in bowl (there also as on the viburnum opulus). They bloom in June.

Fruits: ruddy follicle persistent until next spring.
Use: ornamental shrub, especially for its beautiful summer flowering (when most flowering shrubs have lost their adornment) and fruit that will last all winter.

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common ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius

shrub of the family Rosaceae

Rubric Pictures