Content
- The botanical name of the hydrangea and its origin
- Latin name of the hydrangea
- Hydrangeas conquer the German parks
- Origin of the German plant name
- Well-known species and their botanical names
- Tips & Tricks
The botanical name of the hydrangea and its origin
The first hydrangeas came to us from China and Japan, where the garden beauties quickly found a large following. The botanical and German names of the plants are entwined with many legends, some of which are as enchanting as the flowers of the Hydrangea.
Latin name of the hydrangea
The name Hydrangea appears for the first time in 1739 in the Flora Virginica, a description of the growth in the North American state of Virginia plants on. It derives from the Greek terms hydro = water and anion. Angeion describes the pitcher-shaped flower form of the hydrangea.
Hippolito Ruiz Lopez and Antonio Pavon y Jiminez collected wild forms of hydrangea in South America and described the flowering shrub in 1798 as well. However, they gave the hydrangea the no longer common genus name Cornidia.
Hydrangeas conquer the German parks
The presumed first hydrangea in Europe was introduced in 1736 by Peter Collison of America. Around the year 1800, the first hydrangeas, cultivated in large tubs, adorned the wonderfully landscaped parks Pillnitz and Weesenstein in Saxony
Origin of the German plant name
The name Hortensia / Hydrangea awarded the botanist Commerson in 1771, according to legend, in honor of a lady. For this purpose, three women close to the plant lover are eligible:
All these explanations for the naming sound very romantic. Most likely, however, the name is simply derived from the Latin term "hortus" (garden).
In any case, it is wrong to think that the hydrangea was named after a daughter of Empress Josephine. The girl was born several years after the German naming of Hydrangea.
Well-known species and their botanical names
Tips & Tricks
Beautiful collections of flowering hydrangea bushes can be visited in Belgium, Holland and England. Almost 800 species of romantic flowering shrubs are currently cultivated in France.