If the dried branching stuff on the top represents the last year inflorescence, then this is not Viburnum, which should have an umbrella-like inflorescence.
Here are a couple of more pictures, not sure if it helps but.. It has "furry" leaves, and it smells, sort of like sage I guess. It is a fairly common plant here, along the sides of roads and such. Cheers
Difficult to say by the leaves only. It might be Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) or some kind of Schizophragma sp. Japanese flora is very unique and our experience may fail miserably with their endemics. Best way is to wait for some flowers on this or more mature plants.
okay - I have exhausted plants cultivated in N. CA - maybe Saltcedar has proposed a good candidate (and bless him for have better resources describing wild plants...::))
Is the stem 4-angled? My suspicion is something in the mint family (hence the vague smell of sage) -- possibly a Perilla... see: Perilla frutescens. For variability in this species (and its numerous cultivated varieties), see Perilla frutescens on Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
Excuse the delay... THANK YOU VERY MUCH to all! I believe it is the same plant as the one in the 2nd link. Today I found one and took a picture of it...it was on the side of the road. Cheers, John http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/MIJ13/plant.jpg
