Hydrangea cinerea — ashy hydrangea
![Bark: Hydrangea cinerea. ~ By William and Linda Steere and the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. ~ Copyright © 2024 William and Linda Steere and the C.V. Starr Virtual Herbarium. ~ Barbara Thiers, Director; bthiers[at]nybg.org ~ C.V. Starr Herbarium - NY Botanical Gardens](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Hydrangeaceae/hydrangea-cinerea-ba-cvstarr1.jpg)
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Facts
Ashy hydrangea is native to states south and west of New England, and is considered introduced in Connecticut, where it is found mainly in disturbed areas and roadsides. It produces two types of flowers in a showy cluster: small, fertile ones, and an outer ring of larger, sterile ones that function as displays to attract insect pollinators. Cherokee people have used infusions of the bark and roots as emetics.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), forest edges, forests
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
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enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Massachusetts
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 60–150 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- orange
- red
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are three or more scales on the winter bud, and they overlap like shingles, with one edge covered and the other edge exposed
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- some of the flowers on the plant are enlarged and sterile
- Flower petal color
- white
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower has a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
-
- the inflorescence is a corymb (with long lower branches and shorter upper branches, giving it a more or less flat-topped look)
- the inflorescence is a dichasial cyme (an axis with a terminal flower, below it a pair of branches, each with a terminal flower, these branches may in turn each have a pair of branches and so on)
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
-
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Stamen number
- 10
- Stamen position relative to petals
- NA
- Stamens fused
- the stamens are not fused to one another
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit type (general)
- the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
-
- The base of the leaf blade is cordate (heart-shaped, with rounded lobes)
- the base of the leaf blade is rounded
- Leaf blade edges
- the edge of the leaf blade has teeth
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade flatness
- the leaf is flat (planar) at the edges
- Leaf blade hairs
- the leaf blade has tangled or woolly-looking hairs, without glands
- Leaf blade length
- 60–150 mm
- Leaf blade scales
- there are no scales on the leaf blades
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is oblong (rectangular but with rounded ends)
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf teeth
- the leaf blade margin is serrate (with forward-pointing) or dentate (with outward-pointing) with medium-sized to coarse teeth
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there are two leaves per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Massachusetts
- Specific habitat
-
- edges of forests
- forests
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Scent
- Plant odor
- the plant does not have much of an odor, or it has an unpleasant or repellant odor
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- orange
- red
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- absent
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- present
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.
- Massachusetts
- not applicable (S-rank: SNA)
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
2. Hydrangea cinerea Small E
ashy hydrangea. Hydrangea arborescens L. ssp. discolor (Ser. ex DC.) McClintock; H. arborescens L. var. discolor Ser. ex DC. • MA. Roadsides, forest borders and fragments, areas of cultivation.
Native to North America?
Yes