Trivia about hydrangeas. A collection of fun facts related to ajisai (hydrangeas).

Siebold once tried to name the hydrangea “Otaku-sa.”

Siebold, who was active as a physician and naturalist, often appears in textbooks, doesn’t he? He was the one who brought the latest Western medicine of the time to Japan during the Edo period.

While in Japan, Siebold fell in love with a woman named Otaki-san.

However, since romances with foreigners were still rare in those days, their love ended sadly.

Moved by his feelings, Siebold is said to have named a certain hydrangea “Otakusa.” Of course, Otakusa is a variation on Otaki-san’s name—how romantic.

However, the hydrangea he named Otakusa had already been given another name, so his name was not accepted.

I’m sensitive to sunlight.

Hydrangeas burst into beautiful bloom all at once during the rainy season, but did you know they actually don’t like direct sunlight? Hydrangeas are plants that absorb plenty of water and prefer well-ventilated spots.

If they’re exposed to strong sun for too long, their leaves can scorch and they may suffer poor growth due to lack of moisture.

So, when keeping them indoors, avoid places with prolonged western sun or direct sunlight, and when planting them outdoors, choose spots shaded by trees or fences.

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hiyori

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become an antipyretic

Among the plants and flowers we casually encounter in daily life, quite a few are actually used medicinally.

Hydrangeas, for example, have long been used as a medicine and were believed to help reduce fever and treat colds.

The part used medicinally is the dried flowers.

However, hydrangeas also contain toxins, so great care is required when handling them.

There have even been incidents of poisoning caused by people eating hydrangea leaves used as food garnishes.

By the way, like hydrangeas, other ornamental plants such as fragrant olive (osmanthus) and pinks (dianthus) are also said to have medicinal effects.

There’s a reason they’re often raised in temples.

You hear the term “hydrangea temple” so often because many temples have hydrangeas planted on their grounds.

Why have hydrangeas been indispensable at temples since ancient times? Hydrangeas are plants that grow with little fuss and are easy to care for.

In eras when medical technology was not advanced, many people died during seasonal transitions in June, so hydrangeas may have been easy to procure as temple flowers for memorial offerings.

There are also theories that, because they have four petals, they symbolize “four = death,” and that they are connected to amacha (sweet hydrangea tea), which has deep ties to Buddhism.

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The sterile florets of the lacecap hydrangea flip over.

Don’t you associate hydrangeas with vividly colored petals in full bloom? In fact, the parts commonly thought to be hydrangea petals aren’t actually flowers.

They’re the outermost organs surrounding the true flowers, called decorative or sterile florets.

The grainy-looking parts at the center of those are the actual flowers.

One reason the decorative florets of lacecap hydrangeas become so vibrant is to lure insects like bees for pollination.

Once that goal is achieved and seeds form in the central flowers, the decorative florets flip backward.

This is said to prevent them from getting in the way so the newly formed seeds can be dispersed farther.

It’s a surprisingly strategic design—something you wouldn’t expect from such a beautiful-looking plant.

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Nakajima Junko

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