Now that I have ruled out Cotoneaster and Photinia because this shrub has opposite leaves, I am thinking Viburnum, but I'm not finding one with such hairy leaves as this. It's a very early bloomer; the photos were taken February 27. It's funny to me, I read a Facebook posting a while ago on how there is a definite order for modifiers in English, and I am not at all sure that I am following the rules in my subject line, but somehow, I just doubt anything I could find would exactly cover this set. What I've written seems wrong, though.
At the risk of being wrong again .....I am going with Viburnum tinus...evergreen, early to flower. Leaves can be hairy. Viburnum tinus - Trees and Shrubs Online Quote from above...... "V. tinus is a very variable species in the size and shape of its leaves, in the presence or absence of hairs from the young growths, petioles and the undersides and margins of the leaves, as well as in the size and density of the inflorescence"
Oh dear, I posted a Viburnum tinus var. rigidum for ID, ten years ago, but I do still remember the name. And the fruits. But I didn't remember the leaves or the hairs. Viburnum? Maybe rigidum or tinus?. In that thread, @Ron B suggested it was the cultivar 'Compactum'. I guess the one in the thread here, that I just posted, does not have a mounded form, so it the basic Lauristinus (I just learned that word). Thanks, Silver surfer.
Viburnum rhytidophyllum has indumentum on the foliage but its leaves are much more heavily textured. Viburnum tinus usually just has fine hairs and scales. Given the way the flowers are carried, too, it almost looks like a hybrid between tinus and rhytidophyllum. Is the such a thing?
Viburnum rhytidophyllum is very different in leaf shape, leaf texture, brown hairy stalks, flower shape etc .I am not seeing anything in wcutlers pics to make me think it is related to Viburnum rhytidophyllum Pics below are all Viburnum rhytidophyllum
