Hydrangea arborescens
Hydrangea arborescens | |
---|---|
File:Hydrangea arborescens 001.JPG | |
Secure (NatureServe) |
|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
(unranked): | |
(unranked): | |
(unranked): | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | |
Species: |
H. arborescens
|
Binomial name | |
Hydrangea arborescens [1] |
Lua error in Module:Taxonbar/candidate at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Hydrangea arborescens, commonly known as smooth hydrangea, wild hydrangea, or sevenbark, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae. It is a small- to medium-sized, deciduous shrub up to 3 m (10 ft) tall that is native to the eastern United States.[2]
Contents
Range/Habitat
Smooth hydrangea is widely distributed across the eastern United States—from southern New York to the panhandle of Florida, west to eastern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas. It is mainly found in moist soils under a hardwood forest canopy and is often common along woodland road banks and streams.[3] It is common in the Delaware River Valley and in the Appalachian Mountains.[2][4]
Taxonomy
At one time both ashy hydrangea (Hydrangea cinerea) and silverleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata) were considered subspecies of smooth hydrangea.[5] However, most taxonomists now consider them to be separate species.[2][6]
Characteristics
The inflorescence of smooth hydrangea is a corymb. The showy, sterile flowers are usually absent or if present they are usually less than 1 cm in diameter.[2] Flowering occurs May to July. Fruit is a ribbed brown capsule about 2 mm long; many are produced.
The leaves of smooth hydrangea are large (8 to 18 cm long), opposite, serrated, ovate, and deciduous. The lower leaf surface is glabrous or with inconspicuous fine hairs, appearing green; trichomes of the lower surface are restricted to the midrib and major veins.
The stem bark has a peculiar tendency to peel off in several successive thin layers with different colors, hence the common name "sevenbark".[4]
Smooth hydrangea can spread rapidly by stolons to form colonies.[7]
Uses
This attractive native shrub is often cultivated for ornamental use.[8] 'Annabelle' is the best known cultivar of this species; it is one of the most cold hardy of the hydrangeas. The cultivar ‘Grandiflora’ has flowers that resemble snowballs, similar to Viburnum plicatum.
Smooth hydrangea root was used medicinally by Native Americans, and later, by early settlers for treatment of kidney and bladder stones.[9][10]
Gallery
-
Hills-of-Snow Hydrangea arborescens 'Grandiflora' Flowers 2606px.jpg
Hills-of-Snow Hydrangea "Grandiflora"
-
Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens).jpg
Flowers of Smooth Hydrangea
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lance, Ron. 2004 Woody Plants of the southeastern United States: A winter guide. The University of Georgia Press. 456 p.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ McClintock, E. 1957. A monograph of the genus Hydrangea. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 29: 147-256.
- ↑ Pilatowski, Ronald E. A taxonomic study of the Hydrangea arborescens complex. Castanea 47: 84-98.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael A. hydrangeas for American gardens. Timber Press. 240 p.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Cook, Will. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of North Carolina. Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens).
- Information on cultivar Annabelle
- Hydrangea arborescens Large-format diagnostic photos and information
- Hydrangea Thoughts I - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Hydrangea (Culture, History and Etymology).
- Briartech.com: Smooth Hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens.
- Pages with broken file links
- NatureServe secure species
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- Hydrangea
- Flora of the Northeastern United States
- Flora of the Southeastern United States
- Flora of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
- Flora of Alabama
- Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains
- Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
- Plants described in 1753