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Hydrangea arborescens

Common name:	Seven Barks	Family:	Hydrangeaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - New York to Florida, west to Ohio, Oklahoma and Indiana.
Habitat:	Rich woods, banks of streams and calcareous rocky slopes[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	H. arborescens var. oblonga[B,P] H. arborescens var. sterilis[B,P] H. vulgaris[H] Viburnum alnifolium[G] Viburnum americanum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Common Hydrangea [H], Hydrangea [H,E], Hydrangea Sauvage [E], Seven Barks [H], Sevenbarks [E], Wild Hydrangea [H,B,P,L,DEN1], Wilde Hydrangea [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	arborescens = tree like
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Hydrangea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Canada France Germany Netherlands Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Appalachia)

Physical Characteristics

A decidious shrub growing to 3m by 2m . It is hardy to zone 3 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 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 semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Stem.

The peeled branches and twigs have been used to make a tea[257].
The new growth of young twigs has been peeled, boiled thoroughly then fried and eaten[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic Cathartic Diaphoretic Diuretic Sialagogue Tonic.

Seven barks was used by the North American Indians as a remedy for kidney and bladder stones and is still used for these purposes in modern herbalism[254]. It is considered to both encourage the expulsion of stones and to help dissolve those that remain[254].
The roots are anthelmintic, cathartic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic and tonic[4, 21, 46, 165, 222, 238]. They are used in the treatment of kidney stones, mucous irritations of the bladder, cystitis, nephritis, enlarged prostate and bronchial afflictions[222, 238, 254]. Excessive doses can cause dizziness and bronchial congestion[238]. The fresh roots are very succulent and can be easily cut, when dry they become very tough and resistant[4]. They are harvested in the autumn and it is best to cut them into short sections before drying them[4, 254].
The scraped bark is used as a poultice on wounds, burns, sore muscles, sprains etc[222]. The bark is chewed in the treatment of stomach and heart ailments[222].
The leaves are cathartic, diuretic, sialagogue and tonic[4].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Tolerates most soils[200], thriving in a well-drained loamy soil[1], but resenting dryness at the roots[11, 200]. Requires partial shade[11]. Does well on very acid soils with a pH around 4.5[200]. In frosty areas it is best to site the plant in a position shaded from the early morning sun[238].
A good bee plant[108]. The flowers are sweetly scented[245].
Plants are best left unpruned[49]. Another report says that the previous year's flowering shoots should be cut back in early spring[238].
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]. Thick growths make the best cuttings, but these should be placed in individual pots[78]. Good percentage[113].
Cuttings of mature wood in late autumn in a frame[200].
Mound layering in spring. Takes 12 months[78].
Division of suckers in late winter[113]. They can be planted out direct into their permanent positions.
Leaf-bud cuttings of the current seasons growth in a frame[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are sweetly scented.

Suppliers

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

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants 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]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[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.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[49] Arnold-Forster. Shrubs for the Milder Counties.
Trees and shrubs that grow well in &ndndndnd and other mild areas of Britain. Fairly good, a standard reference book.

[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.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[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.

[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.

[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.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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