Flowering shrub

Mountain hydrangea

Hydrangea serrata

Mountain hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata) is a shrub in the Hydrangeaceae family.

🌷 Flowering shrub

Mountain hydrangea is a popular flowering shrub. It's on our flower lists for 21 states.

–states where USDA records it

21Bloomipedia state lists include it

14U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 23, 2026. Planted garden shrubs are mostly excluded from research grade.

On our lists for: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington

Quick look

Hydrangea serrata is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to mountainous regions of Korea and Japan. Common names include mountain hydrangea and tea of heaven. Growing to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and broad, it is a deciduous shrub with oval leaves and panicles of blue and pink flowers in summer and autumn (fall).
From Wikipedia's article Hydrangea serrata, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Hydrangeaceae family. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 4 research-grade sightings of it in Oregon, ranking #128 among the 184 flowers on our Oregon list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 3 research-grade sightings of it in Georgia, ranking #162 among the 183 flowers on our Georgia list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 3 research-grade sightings of it in Washington, ranking #129 among the 187 flowers on our Washington list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Not enough flowering records on iNaturalist to chart yet.

Bloom time in the 21 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Oregon	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	4
Georgia	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	3
Washington	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	3
California	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	1
South Carolina	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	1
Tennessee	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	1
New Hampshire	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Colorado	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Connecticut	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Delaware	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Illinois	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Massachusetts	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Maryland	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Maine	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Michigan	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
North Carolina	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
New Jersey	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
New York	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Pennsylvania	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Rhode Island	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0
Virginia	🌷 Garden	no flowering records	0

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)

Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}

NatureServe

Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^NatureServe

State rare plant lists

Not listed Not on the official rare plant list in 18 of our 21 states.

See each state

Oregon: Not listed Not on Oregon endangered and threatened plants (OAR 603-073-0070). ^{OAR 603-073-0070}
Georgia: Not listed Not on Georgia protected plants (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 391-4-10-.09; a 2026 update is proposed). ^{Ga. R. 391-4-10-.09}
California: Not listed Not on California state-listed endangered, threatened and rare plants (14 CCR § 670.2), per CDFW's CNDDB list (July 2026). ^{CNDDB listed plants (July 2026)}
Tennessee: Not listed Not on Tennessee endangered plants (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-06-02-.04, Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act). ^{TN rule 0400-06-02-.04}
New Hampshire: Not listed Not on New Hampshire Official Rare Plants List (Ncr 312, eff. Jan 1, 2020). ^{NH Ncr 312}
Connecticut: Not listed Not on Connecticut Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Plants (RCSA 26-306; 2015 list). ^{CT E/T/SC list}
Delaware: Not listed Not on Rare and Uncommon Plants of Delaware (DNREC, 2024; informational, Delaware has no state plant-protection list). ^{DE rare plants 2024}
Illinois: Not listed Not on Illinois List of Endangered and Threatened Flora (17 Ill. Adm. Code 1050), per the Endangered Species Protection Board's 2025 checklist. ^{IL E&T checklist 2025}
Massachusetts: Not listed Not on Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list (321 CMR 10.90). ^{MESA list}
Maryland: Not listed Not on Maryland threatened and endangered plants (COMAR 08.03.08.05, .06 and .08). ^{COMAR 08.03.08}
Maine: Not listed Not on Maine Rare Plant List (Maine Natural Areas Program, 2021). E and T are Maine's official endangered and threatened plants (12 M.R.S.); SC and PE are tracking categories. ^{Maine rare plant list}
Michigan: Not listed Not on Michigan endangered and threatened plants (Mich. Admin. Code R 299.1028, eff. March 20, 2023). ^{R 299.1028}
North Carolina: Not listed Not on North Carolina Protected Plant Species List (02 NCAC 48F .0301). ^{02 NCAC 48F .0301}
New Jersey: Not listed Not on New Jersey Endangered Plant Species List (N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1). ^{N.J.A.C. 7:5C-5.1}
New York: Not listed Not on New York protected native plants (6 NYCRR § 193.3). ^{6 NYCRR § 193.3}
Pennsylvania: Not listed Not on Pennsylvania classified native plants (17 Pa. Code Ch. 45, Subchapter B, as amended 2023). ^{17 Pa. Code Ch. 45}
Rhode Island: Not listed Not on Rhode Island Rare Plants 2016 (RI Natural History Survey, from the RI Wildlife Action Plan; informational, Rhode Island has no state plant-protection listing law). ^{RI rare plants 2016}
Virginia: Not listed Not on Virginia endangered and threatened plant and insect species (2VAC5-320-10). ^2VAC5-320-10

Washington

No list Washington has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants (the Washington Natural Heritage Program's rare plant list isn't regulatory), so we show NatureServe's Washington ranks instead.

South Carolina

No list South Carolina has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's South Carolina ranks instead.

Colorado

No list Colorado has no state law listing endangered or threatened plants, so we show NatureServe's Colorado ranks instead.

Checked October 23, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleEdible (per NC State Extension)

NC State Extension notes: “Leaves can be used to make a sweet tea. The leaves can also be distilled to create a sweetener.” ^{NC State Extension}

For petsCan be a problem for cats, dogs and horses

NC State Extension flags it as a problem for cats, dogs and horses. It isn't on the ASPCA plant list. ^{NC State Extension}

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.