Hydrangea paniculata

Hydrangea paniculata, the panicled hydrangea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae native to southern and eastern China, Korea, Japan and Russia (Sakhalin). It was first formally described by Philipp Franz von Siebold in 1829.

Scientific classification
Kingdom:    Plantae
Clade:    Angiosperms
Clade:    Eudicots
Clade:    Asterids
Order:    Cornales
Family:    Hydrangeaceae
Genus:    Hydrangea
Species:    H. paniculata

Description
It is a deciduous shrub or small tree, 1–5 m (3.3–16.4 ft) tall by 2.5 m (8 ft) broad, growing in sparse forests or thickets in valleys or on mountain slopes.

The leaves are broadly oval, toothed and 7–15 cm (3–6 in) 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 cultivars have been developed for ornamental use, of which the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit:

• ’Big Ben’
• ’Limelight’ (PBR)
• ’Phantom’
• Pink Diamond = ‘Interhydia’
• Pinky-Winky = ‘Dvppinky’ (PBR)
• ’Silver Dollar’ (suitable for smaller gardens)
• Those cultivars marked (PBR) are protected by plant breeders' rights from unauthorised propagation.

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