The History of Hydrangea

Good day dear community, I hope you had a weekend which has brought numerous interesting experiences into your life and I wish you also a good start into the new month! In this post, I would like to talk about nature and hope you can expand your knowledge.

Here you can see pictures of the hortensia, which is also known under the scientific name Hydrangea and originally comes from Asia, where it has been increasingly widespread from China and Japan. In Asia, it was of particularly great importance in ruling houses and through seafarers from Great Britain, the hydrangea came in the 18th century to Europe and from there, it was spreading more and more and the introduced wild species were the basis for many breeds, but there are different traditions about the origin. An important person in this context is the English naturalist Sir Joseph Banks (1743 - 1820) who is said to have brought the plant from Japan to London where it was cultivated in the botanical garden and there are even some interpretations that it was already known in France a few years earlier. While traveling around the world, the French botanist Philibert Commerson (1727 - 1773) discovered the plant and when it comes to the naming, different women come into question and it is assumed that it could be a companion on his travels or that he had named it after the former Queen of Holland Hortense de Beauharnais (1783 - 1837). Hortense de Beauharnais is also known as the mother of Napoleon III (1808 - 1873) who was to go down in history as French president and later as Emperor and her mother Josephine de Beauharnais (1763 - 1814) was married to the well-known French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821) who was also considered her stepfather and she was a huge lover of plants.

There are also interpretations that the Dutch introduced hydrangea and during the golden age, which also describes a period between the 16th and 17th century, the Netherlands was one of the strongest powers on the sea and the Dutch sent employees of the East India Company to Japan to make new discoveries where they also became aware of hydrangea and brought it back to the Netherlands and over the centuries more and more species came to Europe. Even if it is not completely clear where the exact name comes from and who brought it to Europe first, it is clear that it is a unique flower that conjures up a smile on the face with its different colors and it is no wonder that it is often considered a sign of beauty from a symbolic point of view. The plant is also often associated with the house of Orange-Nassau and some wild forms also grow on the American continent and there are also views that it could come from Indonesia and the name of the genus was determined in 1753 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) and I find it definitely interesting what a diverse history the hydrangea has behind it.

Thanks a lot for stopping by and I hope you could learn something new about nature! I captured these pictures with my Camera Sony Alpha 6000 plus 55-210 mm lens.