Hydrangea
Hydrangea, common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably Korea, China, and Japan. Most are shrubs 1-3m tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30m by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely-cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is now very common, particularly on Faial, which is known as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.
‘Hydrangea’ is derived from Greek and means ‘water vessel’, which is in reference to the shape of its seed capsules. The earlier name, Hortensia, is a Latinised version of the French given name Hortense, referring to the wife of Jean-André Lepaute.
In most species the flowers are white, but in some species (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark purple. In these species the colour is affected by the presence of aluminium ions which are available or tied up depending upon the soil pH.
This example of H. macrophylla, called "Bouquet Rose," was seen in the grounds of Wakehurst, a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Hydrangea
Hydrangea, common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably Korea, China, and Japan. Most are shrubs 1-3m tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30m by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely-cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.
Having been introduced to the Azores, H. macrophylla is now very common, particularly on Faial, which is known as the "blue island" due to the vast number of hydrangeas present on the island.
‘Hydrangea’ is derived from Greek and means ‘water vessel’, which is in reference to the shape of its seed capsules. The earlier name, Hortensia, is a Latinised version of the French given name Hortense, referring to the wife of Jean-André Lepaute.
In most species the flowers are white, but in some species (notably H. macrophylla), can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark purple. In these species the colour is affected by the presence of aluminium ions which are available or tied up depending upon the soil pH.
This example of H. macrophylla, called "Bouquet Rose," was seen in the grounds of Wakehurst, a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.