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Common Name: Wild Hydrangea
Scientific Name: Hydrangea arborescens
Family: Saxifraceae
Pierson Falls Road
Polk County, North Carolina
May 18, 2002 (first bud coming)
June 29, 2002 (full bloom)
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The white, showy, 3 - 4 lobed calyx of the outer, sterile flowers is about 3/4 inch across; the compact center of the inflorescence is made up of small fertile flowers. The under surface of the leaves of various subspecies of this spreading shrub may be white, gray, or green. Native to the northern and central U.S., these shrubs grow on shady, often moist, roadbanks and cliffs of our mountains and upper piedmont. May - July [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
The roots and rhizomes have been used as diuretics, cathartics, and tonics. Some authorities say that the drug has value in preventing kidney stones. [Krachmal, Arnold and Walters, Russell S. and Doughty, Richard M., A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia, Agriculture Handbook No. 400, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, 1971]
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z