Hydrangea arborescens
{{short description|Species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Hydrangea arborescens 001.JPG
|status = G5
|status_system = TNC
|genus = Hydrangea
|species = arborescens
|authority = L.{{cite web|url=http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HYAR |title=USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services: Plant Profiles. Hydrangea arborescens L |publisher=Plants.usda.gov |date= |accessdate=2014-06-30}}
}}
Hydrangea arborescens, commonly known as smooth hydrangea or sevenbark, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae. It is a small- to medium-sized, multi-stemmed, deciduous shrub up to {{convert|2|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall {{cite book |last1=Cole| last2=Witsell| last3=Gentry |title=Trees Shrubs and Woody Vines of Arkansas |date=2020 |publisher=The Ozark Society Foundation |isbn=9780912456003 |pages=252–253}} that is native to the eastern United States.{{cite web |url=http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm |title=Weakley, Alan S. 2008 (working draft). Flora of Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, northern Florida, and surrounding areas. University of North Carolina Herbarium |publisher=Herbarium.unc.edu |date=2012-10-02 |accessdate=2014-06-30 |archive-date=2018-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006082209/http://herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm |url-status=dead }}
Description
The inflorescence is a corymb up to {{convert|15|cm|in|}} wide. Showy, sterile flowers are usually absent or if present they are usually less than 1 cm in diameter on the edge of the panicles. Flowering occurs May to July. Fruit is a ribbed, brown capsule about 2 mm long. Many are produced in October and persist through the winter.
The leaves 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".
Smooth hydrangea can spread rapidly by stolons to form colonies.{{cite web |url=http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/PlantFinder/Plant.asp?code=K520 |title=Missouri Botanical Garden: Hydrangea arborescens |publisher=Mobot.org |date= |accessdate=2014-06-30 |archive-date=2011-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916102839/http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/Plant.asp?code=K520 |url-status=dead }}
Taxonomy
At one time both ashy hydrangea (Hydrangea cinerea) and silverleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea radiata) were considered subspecies of smooth hydrangea.McClintock, E. 1957. A monograph of the genus Hydrangea. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 29: 147-256. However, most taxonomists now consider them to be separate species.Pilatowski, Ronald E. A taxonomic study of the Hydrangea arborescens complex. Castanea 47: 84-98.
Distribution and 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 mesic soils under the canopy of deciduous forests and is frequently found along small water courses and on woodland road waysides.{{cite book|last=Lance|first=Ron|year=2004|title=Woody Plants of the Southeastern United States: A Winter Guide|publisher=The University of Georgia Press|isbn=0-8203-2524-4|page=162}} It is common in the Delaware River Valley and in the Appalachian Mountains.{{cite web|url=http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/herbhunters/hydrangea.html |title=Purdue University: Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Smooth Hydrangea |publisher=Hort.purdue.edu |date=1998-04-03 |accessdate=2014-06-30}}
It is a host plant of the hydrangea sphinx moth.
Uses
This attractive shrub is often cultivated for ornamental use.{{cite book|last=Dirr|first=Michael A.|title=Hydrangeas for American Gardens|publisher=Timber Press|year=2004|isbn=0881926418}}{{page number needed|date=June 2024}} In the UK the cultivar 'Annabelle' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web
| url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/63034/i-Hydrangea-arborescens-i-Annabelle/Details
| title = RHS Plantfinder - Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle' | accessdate=7 March 2018}}{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017 | page = 51 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 7 March 2018}} The cultivar 'Grandiflora' has inflorescences which resemble snowballs, similar to Viburnum opulus 'Roseum'.
Smooth hydrangea root was used medicinally by the Cherokee, and later, by early settlers for treatment of kidney and bladder stones.{{cite web|url=http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/h/hydran45.html |title=Mrs. M. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Hydrangea arborescens |publisher=Botanical.com |date= |accessdate=2014-06-30}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Hydrangea+arborescens |title=Plants for a Future: Hydrangea arborescens ; |publisher=pfaf.org |date= |accessdate=2015-12-23}}
It has additionally been marked as a pollinator plant, supporting and attracting bees and butterflies.{{Cite web|title=Planting Guides|url=https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator.org/assets/generalFiles/OzarkBroadleafrx1FINAL_171017_085901.pdf|access-date=2022-01-29|website=Pollinator.org|language=en-US}}
Gallery
File:Hydrangea arborescens annabelle.JPG|'Annabelle'
File:Hills-of-Snow Hydrangea arborescens 'Grandiflora' Flowers 2606px.jpg|'Grandiflora'
File:2020 year. Herbarium. Hydrangea arborescens. img-035.jpg|Leaf adaxial side.
File:2020 year. Herbarium. Hydrangea arborescens. img-036.jpg|Leaf abaxial side.
References
External links
{{Commonscat}}
- [http://www.carolinanature.com/trees/hyar.html Cook, Will. Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of North Carolina. Wild Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens).]
- [http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/annabelle.html Information on cultivar Annabelle]
- [http://www.cirrusimage.com/flower_wild_hydrangea.htm Hydrangea arborescens] Large-format diagnostic photos and information
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927110701/http://lakecounty.typepad.com/life_in_lake_county/2007/07/hydrangea-thoug.html Hydrangea Thoughts I] - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Hydrangea (Culture, History and Etymology).
- [http://www.briartech.com/latespring/hydarb/phydarb.htm Briartech.com: Smooth Hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens.]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q278173}}
Category:Flora of the Northeastern United States
Category:Flora of the Southeastern United States
Category:Flora of the United States
Category:Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains
Category:Plants used in traditional Native American medicine