Hydrangea
Hydrangea, an ornamental shrub grown chiefly for its large, showy flower clusters. The plants are native to North and South America and to eastern Asia. Hydrangeas have large, tooth-edged leaves that grow opposite each other in pairs. The five-petaled white, pink, lavender, or blue flowers are arranged in flattopped or globe-shaped clusters. Acid soil produces blue flowers; alkaline soil produces pink flowers. Hydrangeas thrive in rich, moist soil in full sunlight.
American species include the 10-foot (3-m) wild hydrangea of the eastern United States and the hortensia, usually grown in pots by florists. The common hydrangea is a treelike shrub up to 25 feet (8 m) high. The climbing hydrangea vine of Japan may grow 80 feet (24 m) tall.
The wild hydrangea is Hydrangea arborescens; hortensia, H. macrophylla; common, H. paniculata grandiflora; climbing, H. anomala. Hydrangeas belong to the saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae.
Hydrangeas are ornamental shrubs grown for their large, showy flower clusters.