HYDRANGEACE/E— HYDRANGEA FAMILY 



WILD HYDRANGEA 



Hydrangea arborescens. 



Hydrangea, 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. 



Flowers. — June, July. Both fertile and sterile, borne together 

 in terminal corymbose clusters. Exterior flowers 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, two to four-celled ; styles two to four ; 

 ovules many. 



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



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