Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Cornales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hydrangea arborescens
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Smooth Hydrangea at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hydrangea arborescens
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Hydrangea arborescens
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-05-001a:
Hydrangea arborescens ssp. arborescens FAMILY Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydrangea arborescens
COMMON NAME:
Smooth Hydrangea, Sevenbark, Northern Wild Hydrangea
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hyar_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm120523_246
May Graham County NC
Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
Sterile flowers absent, or if present, less than 1cm in diameter, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_136
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Lower leaf surface glabrous... or trichomes restricted to midrib & major veins, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow s050522_cd
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Leaves green below, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
COMPARE
leaves of Hydrangea species
)
JK Marlow jkm140614_841
June Rabun County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm140614_849
June Rabun County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm170624_248
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm170624_250
June Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090709_151
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090709_156
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090709_161
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090709_186
July Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
A 3-6" cluster: fertile flowers in middle & showy sterile flowers on edges, per Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hydrangea arborescens
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hydrangea arborescens
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Hydrangea arborescens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-05-001a:
Hydrangea arborescens ssp. arborescens
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydrangea arborescens
705
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: forests, especially around rock outcrops and along streambanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Bisexual or sterile
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx (in bisexual flowers)/3-4 lobed calyx (in sterile flowers)
5 petals (in bisexual flowers)/petals absent (in sterile flowers)
8-10 exserted stamens
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Brown
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p346
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p246
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p072
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p063
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p302
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p375
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p102
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p220
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p110
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p140
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p16
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p287
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p162