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Hydrangea anomala

Common name:		Family:	Hydrangeaceae
Author:	D.Don.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Hydrangea altissima (Wall.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China to the Himalayas.
Habitat:	Shady ravines to 2100 metres in the Himalayas[158]. Dense to sparse forests in valleys, along stream banks, or on rocky mountain slopes at elevations of 500 - 2900 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Climbing Hydrangea [H,DEN1],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	anomala = abnormal;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Hydrangea family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious climber growing to 12m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is frost tender. It is in flower from June to July, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, By Walls, By East Wall, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Leaves; Sap; Sweetener.

Leaves - cooked. A cucumber taste[183]. The Japanese crush the leaves and use them fresh with miso[177, 183].
A boiled concoction of the leaves is used to make a syrup[177, 183].
The sweet sap is used as a drink[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

The leaves are used medicinally[266]. No further information is given.

Other Uses

Ground cover; Paper.

The bark is a paper substitute[146, 158].
The sub-species H. anomala petiolaris can be used as a ground cover plant in a shady position[188]. It is best spaced about 1.8 metres apart each way[208].

Cultivation details

Tolerates most soils[200], thriving in a well-drained loamy soil[1], but resenting dryness at the roots[11, 200]. Succeeds in full sun or semi-shade[200], but if it is grown in a low rainfall area then it requires shade at the hottest part of the day[11]. Does well on very acid soils with a pH around 4.5[200]. The colour of the flowers reflects the pH of the soil the plant is growing in, the flowers are pink in a neutral to alkaline soil and blue in an acid soil.
Although the dormant plant is quite hardy in Britain, the young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
A fast-growing self-clinging climbing plant[208], attaching itself by means of aerial roots[200], and growing up walls or tree trunks on any aspect. The plants may need initial support, however[200]. Plants are growing well on a wall at Kew[11]. Grows well on north walls but prefers a sunnier position[208].
Closely related to H. petiolaris[11]. H. petiolaris is normally treated as no more than a sub-species of this species[200].
This species is notably susceptible to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow in a greenhouse in spring[113]. Cover the pot with paper until the seed germinates[78]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 8cm long, July/August in a frame. Overwinter in a greenhouse and plant out in late spring[78].
Cuttings of mature wood in late autumn in a frame[200].
Mound layering in spring. Takes 12 months[78].
Basal softwood cuttings of non-flowering shoots[200].
Leaf-bud cuttings of the current seasons growth in a frame[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[146] Gamble. J. S. A Manual of Indian Timbers. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh 1972
Written last century, but still a classic, giving a lot of information on the uses and habitats of Indian trees. Not for the casual reader.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.