DESKTOP 1283 - HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea paniculata (panicled hydrangea) is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangaceae native to southern and eastern China, Korea, Japan and Russia (Sakhalin). It was first formally described by Philipp Franz von Siebold in 1829. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree, 1–5 m tall by 2.5 m broad, growing in sparse forests or thickets in valleys or on mountain slopes.

The leaves are broadly oval, toothed and 7–15 cm long. In late summer it bears large conical panicles of creamy white fertile flowers, together with pinkish white sterile florets. In cultivation it is pruned in spring to obtain larger flower heads. Numerous cultivars have been produced, of which H. paniculata Pink Diamond 'Interhydia' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Other cultivars include: 'Grandiflora', 'Kyushu', 'Praecox', 'Unique'.

H. paniculata is sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the cyanide present as cyanogenic glycosides.

 This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.