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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Hydrangea quericifolia''
| image = Hydrangea quericifolia1.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Cornales]]
| familia = [[Hydrangeaceae]]
| genus = [[Hydrangea]]
| species = '''''H. quercifolia'''''
| binomial = ''Hydrangea quercifolia''
| binomial_authority = Bartram
}}
[[Image:Hydrangea quercifolia.jpg|right|250px|''Hydrangea quercifolia'']]

'''''Hydrangea quercifolia''''' ('''Oakleaf hydrangea''') is a species of [[hydrangea]] native to the southeastern [[United States]], from [[North Carolina]] west to [[Tennessee]], and south to [[Florida]] and [[Louisiana]].

It is a coarse [[deciduous]] [[shrub]] growing to 2.5 m tall with an open crown.

''Hydrangea quercifolia'' sprouts shoots from underground [[stolons]] and often grows in colonies. Young stems are covered in a felt-like light brown [[bark]], and the larger stems have attractive cinnamon-tan-orange bark that shreds and peels in thin flakes.

Leaves are yellowish green on top and downy-white underneath. They have three, five or seven pointed [[lobes]] and are 4-12 in (1.2-30.5 cm) long and almost as wide. Plants in shade have larger leaves than those grown in sun. ''Hydrangea quercifolia'' leaves turn rich shades of red, bronze and purple in [[autumn]] that persist in winter.

Flowers are borne in erect [[panicles]] 6-12 in (15.2-30.5 cm) tall and 3-5 in (7.6-12.7 cm) wide at branch tips. [[Flowers]] age in colour from creamy white, aging to pink and by autumn and winter are a dry, papery rusty-brown.

Unlike bigleaf hydrangea ''([[Hydrangea macrophylla|H. macrophylla]])'', flower color does not vary with [[soil]] [[pH]].

[[Image:Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia).jpg|left|thumb|300px|Oakleaf Hydrangea]]

There are several named [[cultivars]] of ''Hydrangea quercifolia'':
:*''Pee Wee'' under 3-4 ft (0.9-1.2 m) in height.
:*''Snow Flake'' which has 12-15 in (30.5-38.1 cm) clusters of double flowers.
:*''Snow Queen'' cold-hardy and with denser flower clusters.

Oakleaf hydrangea and the popular peegee hydrangea ''(H. paniculata'') are the only hydrangeas with cone-shaped flower clusters; all the others have their flowers in ball-shaped or flat-topped clusters.<ref>http://www.floridata.com/ref/H/hydran_q.cfm</ref>

== Distribution ==

Native to continental North America it grows in mixed hardwood [[forests]], along streams and on forested hillsides, usually on [[calcareous]] soils, and often where [[limestone]] is at the ground surface. ''Hydrangea quercifolia'' is an [[understory]] shrub, often in the shade of large oaks, hickories, magnolias, American beech, etc.

== Cultivation ==

''Hydrangea quercifolia'' grows best in a woodland situation on [[alkaline]] soils.
Preferring partial to almost full shade, with morning sun and afternoon shade is best as optimum. Oakleaf hydrangea will tolerate [[drought]], but may not flower.
Hardiness: [[USDA]] Zones 5-9. 'Snow Queen' is hardy to Zone 5; other [[cultivars]] and species may not be.
Propagation is via cutting or division..

Fresh or dry, ''hydrangea quercifolia'' is an attractive cut flower.

"The oakleaf hydrangea was first discovered and named by John Bartram in the latter half of the 1700s, while he and his son William were exploring southern Georgia and Florida" [http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/articles/Oakleaf_Hydrangea.asp]. <br clear = left>

==External links==
{{commons|Hydrangea quercifolia|Hydrangea quercifolia}}
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HYQU3 USDA Plant Profile: ''Hydrangea quercifolia'']
*[http://www.gwf.org/oakleaf%20hydrangea.htm Georgia Wildlife Federation: ''Hydrangea quercifolia'']
*[http://lakecounty.typepad.com/life_in_lake_county/2007/07/hydrangea-thoug.html Hydrangea Thoughts I] - Informative but non-scholarly essay on Hydrangea (Culture, History and Etymology).