Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Cornales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hydrangea cinerea
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Ashy Hydrangea at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hydrangea cinerea
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Hydrangea cinerea
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-05-001b:
Hydrangea arborescens ssp. discolor FAMILY Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Hydrangea arborescens var. discolor
SYNONYMOUS WITH Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Hydrangea arborescens var. deamii
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydrangea cinerea
COMMON NAME:
Ashy Hydrangea, Southern Wild Hydrangea
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hyci3_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0305z_02
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Clusters of small fertile flowers w a few sterile flowers along outer edge, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0305z_05
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Sterile flowers greater than 1cm in diameter, generally 0-3 per inflorescence, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow s050611_d
June Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Lower leaf surface velutinous, pilose, or tomentose, appearing gray, per Weakley's Flora (2012).
COMPARE
leaves of Hydrangea species
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hydrangea cinerea
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hydrangea cinerea
FAMILY
Hydrangeaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Hydrangea cinerea
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-05-001b:
Hydrangea arborescens ssp. discolor
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Hydrangea arborescens var. discolor
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Hydrangea arborescens var. deamii
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydrangea cinerea
707
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Rocky forests and rock outcrops, roadbanks, perhaps strictly or mostly associated with mafic or calcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in Mountains of GA & NC (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx (in bisexual flowers)/3-4 lobed calyx (in sterile flowers)
5 petals (in bisexual flowers)/petals absent (in sterile flowers)
8-10 exserted stamens
Inferior ovary
Bisexual or sterile
Inflorescence a corymb
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Brown
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p072?
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p176
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p116
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p063?
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p302?
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p220
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p140
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p16
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p162
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