Oak-leaf Hydrangea

Hydrangea quercifolia (04/21/2001)
Basic Information
Tree ID: 
113
Family: 
Hydrangeaceae
Genus and species: 
Hydrangea quercifolia
Description: 
Hydrangea quercifoli, commonly known as oakleaf hydrangea, is a flowering plant of the Hydrangraceae family. It is a vase-shaped, deciduous shrub with showy flower heads. It grows to 3-12 feet or 0.91-3.66 meters tall with an open crown. Young stems are covered in a felt-like brown bark and larger stems have a cinnamon-tan bark that shreds and peels in thin flakes. The leaves are yellowish green to dark green on top and silvery-white on the bottom. Plants in shade have larger leaves than those grown in sun. The leaves turn shades of red, purple, and bronze in autumn. H. quercifoli flowers age in color. They age from creamy-white to pink to a dry, papery, rusty-brown in the autumn and winter. H. quercifoli is native to the southeastern United States. More specifically, it is native to woodland habitats from North Carolina west to Tennessee, and south to Florida and Louisiana. It grows in mixed hardwood forests, along streams, and on forested hillsides. H. quercifoli usually grows on calcareous soils, and often where limestone is at the ground surface. H. quercifoli is an undershrub, and often grows in the shade of trees such as large oaks and magnolias.
Surveyors: 
Jade Tolentino, Tina Wu
Location
Area: 
Prospect and Sachem
Collected Data
Tree shape: 
Vase
Date of tree entry: 
02/24/2021
Height: 
1.88 m
There is some other reason the DBH cannot be measured accurately
Bark
The stems have a smooth inner layer of tan-orange bark with sporadic white nodules that is covered by a peeling outer layer of cracked, dark brown bark.
Twigs & branches
Young stems are covered in a felt-like brown bark and larger stems have a cinnamon-tan bark that shreds and peels in thin flakes.
Foilage
The leaves are yellowish green to dark green on top and silvery-white on the bottom. The leaves can have either 3, 5, or 7 lobes. They resemble the leaves of Oak trees, hence the name. Plants in shade have larger leaves than those grown in sun. The leaves turn shades of red, purple, and bronze in autumn. H. quercifoli flowers age in color. They age from creamy-white to pink to a dry, papery, rusty-brown in the autumn and winter.
Reproductive Structures
Oakleaf hydrangea flowers appear in elongated, cone-shaped clusters. Those clusters are inflorescences (a flower head that consists of a cluster of flowers arranged on a stem). The inflorescences are made up of showy sterile and inconspicuous fertile flowers. The large, showy sterile flowers attract pollinators, which then interact with the smaller, fertile flowers. The sterile flowers do not produce reproductive structures or pollen. In the wild, hydrangeas produce relatively few sterile flowers.
Fruit
The fruit is a dry capsule, not showy, and persistent.
Seasons
  • Winter (02/24/21)
  • Spring (04/21/2021)
  • Summer
  • Autumn
Research
Habitat: 
H. quercifoli is native to the southeastern United States. More specifically, it is native to woodland habitats from North Carolina west to Tennessee, and south to Florida and Louisiana. It grows in mixed hardwood forests, along streams, and on forested hillsides. H. quercifoli usually grows on calcareous soils, and often where limestone is at the ground surface. H. quercifoli is an undershrub, and often grows in the shade of trees such as large oaks and magnolias.
Origin, history, and uses: 

In the 1700s, William Bartram and John Bartram, early American naturalists and botanists, explored the American southeast and southern Appalachian Mountains, collecting and identifying indigenous plants. They documented two major native hydrangea specimens. John first came across H. arborescens (smooth hydrangea) in the 1730s. William discovered H. quercifolia, the oakleaf hydrangea, in 1776. These two varieties of native American hydrangeas formed the groundwork for cultivated hydrangeas, which spread across the states. 

The genus name comes from the Latin “hydor” (water) and “aggeion” (cup) in reference to the cup-like shape its fruit. Its species name is derived from the Latin words “quercus” (oak) and “folium” (leaf). It was slow to enter British and American gardens. In Britain it flowers less profusely; it even has a reputation for being tender. In the U.S. it has been used in garden design across the country since the latter 20th century.

H. quercifolia is cultivated as an ornamental plant in parks and gardens. Though it is often seen as an isolated subject in parks and gardens, it is at its best in a woodland habitat with larger shrubs and trees. It prefers partial to almost full shade and slightly acidic soils (pH of 5.0-6.5). It will tolerate drought but may not flower. In the UK cultivars Snowflake and Snow Queen have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. 
Phenology: 
H. quercifolia is a deciduous shrub. This means that H. quercifolia annually sheds its leaves in the autumn or winter.
References: 

Coats, Alice. Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. “Hydrangea”.

“AGM Plants - Ornamental” Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 51. 

“Hydrangea quercifolia - Plant Finder”. www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. 
 
“Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin”. www.wildflower.org.
 
 
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Shrub Canopy Area: 
28.20sq.m.