''Hydrangea paniculata'', the panicled hydrangea or limelight hydrangea, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Hydrangeaceae Hydrangeaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Cornales, with a wide distribution in Asia and North America, and locally in southeastern Europe. Description The genera are characterised by leaves in opposite pairs (rarely whorled ...

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to southern and eastern China, Korea, Japan and Russia (

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

). It was first formally described by

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

in 1829.

Description

It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub or small tree, tall by broad, growing in sparse forests or thickets in valleys or on mountain slopes. The leaves are broadly oval, toothed and long. In late summer it bears large conical panicles of creamy white fertile flowers, together with pinkish-white sterile florets. Florets may open pale green, grading to white with age, thus creating a pleasing “two-tone” effect.

Cultivation

In cultivation it is pruned in spring to obtain larger flower heads. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s have been developed for ornamental use, of which the following have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

’s

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

:- * ’Big Ben’ * ’Limelight’ ^(PBR) * ’Phantom’ * = ‘Interhydia’ * = ‘Dvppinky’ ^(PBR) * ’Silver Dollar’ (suitable for smaller gardens) Those cultivars marked ^(PBR) are protected by

plant breeders' rights Plant breeders' rights (PBR), also known as plant variety rights (PVR), are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give the breeder exclusive control over the propagating material (including seed, cuttings, divisions, tissue ...

from unauthorised propagation. Other cultivars include: * ‘Praecox,’ a particularly early flowering cultivar

Uses

''Hydrangea paniculata'' is sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the

cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

present as

cyanogenic glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

s.ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
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Etymology

''Hydrangea'' is derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, meaning ‘water vessel’, in reference to the shape of the capsules.Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 206, 289 ''Paniculata'' means ‘with branched-racemose or cymose inflorescences’, ‘tufted’, ‘paniculate’, or ‘with panicles’. This name is about the flowers of this species.

References

External links

* Friedman, William
"Eminent panicle hydrangeas."
''Posts from the Collections'', Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 15 July 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019. * Rose, Nancy
"A Parade of Hydrangeas."
''ARBlog'', Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University website, 2 July 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2019. Flora of China Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Flora of Russia paniculata Plants described in 1829 {{Cornales-stub