Hydrangea arborescens

Hydrangea arborescens, commonly known as Smooth Hydrangea, Wild Hydrangea, or Sevenbark, is a small to medium sized, deciduous shrub up to 3 m tall that is native to the eastern United States. Weakley, Alan S. 2008 (working draft). Flora of Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, northern Florida, and surrounding areas. University of North Carolina Herbarium.
==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.Lance, Ron. 2004 Woody Plants of the southeastern United States: A winter guide. The University of Georgia Press. 456 p. It is common in the Delaware River Valley and in the Appalachian Mountains.Purdue University: Horticulture and Landscape Architecture. Smooth Hydrangea.
== 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 taxonomist now consider them to be separate species.Pilatowski, Ronald E. A taxonomic study of the Hydrangea arborescens complex. Castanea 47: 84-98.
== 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. 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". 
Smooth hydrangea can spread rapidly by stolons to form colonies. Missouri Botanical Garden: Hydrangea arborescens.
==Uses==
This attractive native shrub is often cultivated for ornamental use.Dirr, Michael A. hydrangeas for American gardens. Timber Press. 240 p. '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 was used medicinally by Native Americans, and later, by early settlers for treatment of kidney and bladder stones.Mrs. M. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Hydrangea arborescens.Plants for a Future: Hydrangea arborescens .
==References==
==External links==
*Cook, Will (compiler). Trees, shrubs, and woody vines of North Carolina. Duke University. 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.
==Gallery==
Image:Hydrangea_arborescens_annabelle.JPG|Annabelle Hydrangia Bloom. Hydrangia arborescens.
Image:Hills-of-Snow Hydrangea arborescens 'Grandiflora' Flowers 2606px.jpg|Hills-of-Snow Hydrangea "Grandiflora"
Image:Wild hydrangea var annabelle.jpg|Wild Hydrangea v. Annabelle</br>Hydrangea arborescens
Image:Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens).jpg|Flowers of Smooth Hydrangea
Category:Hydrangea