HYDRANGEACEyE— HYDRANGEA FAMILY 



WILD HYDRANGEA 



Hydrangea arborescens. 



Hydra?igea, of Greek derivation, meaning water vessel, so 

 named from the shape of the small capsule. 



Vigorous, four to ten feet high ; found on rocky, river banks 

 in southern New York and in New^ Jersey, very abundant in the 

 valley of the Delaware, ranging south to Florida and west to 

 Iowa and Missouri. Species variable. Ascends 4,200 feet in the 

 mountains of North Carolina. 



Leaves. — Opposite, simple, three to six inches long, ovate, 

 rounded or cordate or broadly wedge-shaped at base, sharply 

 dentate, acute or acuminate at apex ; when full grown are bright 

 green above, upper surface deeply corrugated, all the veins very 

 prominent beneath, very reticulate, glabrous or pubescent. 



Flowej's. — June, July. Both fertile and sterile, borne together 

 in terminal corymbose clusters. Exterior flow^ers of the clusters 

 often without petals, stamens or pistils, but with enlarged and 

 very conspicuous calyx-lobes ; sometimes these sterile flowers are 

 very abundant ; sometimes there are none. Fertile flowers are 

 small. 



Calyx. — Tube obconic, adnate to the ovary, four to five- 

 toothed, teeth minute, persistent. 



Corolla. — Petals four or five, valvate in bud, pinkish cream. 



Stamens. — Eight to ten, inserted on the disk; filaments 

 threadlike, exserted ; anthers pink ; pollen abundant. 



Pistil. — Ovary inferior, tw^o to four-celled ; styles two to four ; 

 ovules many. 



Fruit. — Capsule small, two-celled, ribbed, many-seeded. 



20S 



