Species

Hydrangea macrophylla

Etymology

Hydrangea: From the Greek hydor 'water' and aggeion 'a vessal or vase', referring to the shape of the seed capsules.
macrophylla: big leaf

Common Name(s)

hydrangea

Family

Hydrangeaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

HYDMAC

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Habitat

Terrestrial. Persistent around old homesteads, near water and on forest margins.

Features

Deciduous rounded shrub to about 2 m tall with suckering habit. Leaves tend to be towards the end of the branches and are ovate and up to about 20 x 15 cm, margins coarsely serrate. Flower head either rounded or flat. Usually composed of sterile flowers (especially in cultivation) but can have fertile flowers in centre. Seed capsule to about 5 mm long.

Similar Taxa

Hydrangea is very familiar to New Zealand gardeners, wild material can appear quite different with flat inflorecences containing sterile flowers.

Flowering

November, December, January, February, March.

Flower Colours

Blue,Violet / Purple

Year Naturalised

1975

Origin

Japan

Reason for Introduction

Ornamental.

Life Cycle and Dispersal

Reproduces by suckering, persisting from cultivation and seed. Viable seed can be produced. Dispersed by people and gravity.

Tolerances

Prefers damp shady areas.

References and further reading

Johnson, A. T. and Smith, H. A (1986). Plant Names Simplified: Their pronunciation, derivation and meaning. Landsman Bookshop Ltd: Buckenhill, UK.

This page last updated on 8 Aug 2013