categoryZClimbers Climbers List 
categoryZSemievergreen Semi-evergreen List 

CLIMBING HYDRANGEA

JAPANESE CLIMBING-HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea anomala

Mock-orange Family [Hydrangeaceae]

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category
category8Climbers
category
category8Semievergreen
status
statusZalien
flower
flower8white
inner
inner8cream
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ4
type
typeZumbel
stem
stem8round
toxicity
toxicityZlowish

15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
More likely to be found climbing up a house than growing wild.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
But here is one apparently growing wild up a tree, although in reality it is probably a cast-out from a garden.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Like Lacecap Hydrangeas, the flowers grow in 'umbels' with petal-less fertile flowers in the centre surrounded by sterile flowers with 'petals' on the outside.


4th June 2011, Upper Padley, Grindleford, Derbys. Photo: © RWD
The sterile flowers on the outside are the first to open whereas the fertile buds in the centre have yet to open.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Fertile flowers in centre have opened. They lack petals.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Mixed in with still un-opened flower buds the fertile flowers have many long off-white stamens terminating in a cream-coloured anther.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
With careful counting there are between 14 and 18 stamens on each fertile flower.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Stamens long and many; anthers relatively small.


4th June 2011, Upper Padley, Grindleford, Derbys. Photo: © RWD
Normal sterile flowers have four cream-coloured 'petals' (actually bracts) which have shallow sawtooth-shaped teeth near the rounded ends.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Sterile flowers with five 'petals' (bracts) are fairly common.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
As are those with but three bracts.


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Teeth on leaves has slightly deeper and forwardly-directed teeth than those on another similar Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris).


15th June 2010, High Newton, Cumbria. Photo: © RWD
Upper surface of leaves is slightly rougher in appearance that the shinier leaves of Hydrangea petiolaris.


3rd Oct 2018, Ranby, Chesterfield Canal, Notts. Photo: © RWD
The fruits are small. The flower stems are fractally branched at 60° angles.


3rd Oct 2018, Ranby, Chesterfield Canal, Notts. Photo: © RWD
From the top the fruits are oval with a central hole.


3rd Oct 2018, Ranby, Chesterfield Canal, Notts. Photo: © RWD
Most fruits have an oval outline and two styles splayed out as seen from the top, but maybe 5% have 3 styles and are round instead (with 2 examples being within the photo).


3rd Oct 2018, Ranby, Chesterfield Canal, Notts. Photo: © RWD
An oblique view of a fruit with 2 styles splayed outwards.


3rd Oct 2018, Ranby, Chesterfield Canal, Notts. Photo: © RWD
Some new leaves have a puzzling yellow-red 'bud' which perhaps are just more new but unopened leaves(?)


Easily identified as : a Climbing Hydrangea, but which one is more problematic. No relation to : Climbing Corydalis [a plant with similar name belonging to a differing family].

More likely to be found climbing up the walls of a house than anywhere else in the UK, but some are to be found clambering up shrubs and trees as one set of the above photos shows.

There are a few Climbing hydrangeas, most are used as garden plants in the UK and are native to Japan and China. Japanese climbing-hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala) has forwardly directed teeth on the leaves and 9 - 15 stamens and is from China. Another Climbing Hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) has shallower teeth that are outwardly directed on shinier leaves and flowers with 15 - 20 stamens. Just to confuse matters, the above photographs have flowers with between 14 and 17 stamens and between 3 and 5 petals (although most have the nominal four).

The BSBI lists only one hectad where Hydrangea anomala is growing 'wild' in the UK (and none for any other Climbing Hydrangea).

Hydrangeas are poisonous containing cyanogenic glycosides amongst several other poisonous secondary metabolites.


  Hydrangea anomala  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Hydrangeaceae  

Distribution
 family8Mock-orange family8Hydrangeaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Hydrangea
Hydrangea
(Hydrangeas)

CLIMBING HYDRANGEA

JAPANESE CLIMBING-HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea anomala

Mock-orange Family [Hydrangeaceae]