Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 16, 2026

Deinanthe

Deinanthe is a genus consisting of a few species of rare herbaceous-habit rhizomatous plants found in the mountain woodlands of East Asia, ranging from China to Japan. They are handsome clump-forming perennials good for shade, woodland and rock gardens. These attractive deciduous plants have relatively large "fishtail" leaves. Deinanthes grow at a slow rate to be bushy and shrub-like, 2 ft tall and wide. The leaves attain 3 to 4 inches in length, being deep green, roughly textured, deep veined, cordate at their bases and with serrate margins. The shoots emerge from stout, knobby rhizomes. Leaves are easily damaged in direct sun exposure. Flowering occurs in late summer to early fall. The delicate, waxy, nodding cup-shaped flowers in rich to pale purple-blue, rose or white, are borne in loose terminal clusters. Resembling gargantuan fertile hydrangea flowers, with numerous yellowish to pale blue anthers, they are occasionally accompanied by sterile flowers, as in the lacecap hydrangeas. Roots and leaves are edible.

Last revised
Jul 16, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
207 w
Citations
Source
Deinanthe
Deinanthe caerulea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Hydrangeaceae
Subfamily: Hydrangeoideae
Tribe: Hydrangeeae
Genus: Deinanthe
Maxim.
Species

See text

Deinanthe is a genus consisting of a few species of rare herbaceous-habit rhizomatous plants found in the mountain woodlands of East Asia, ranging from China to Japan. They are handsome clump-forming perennials good for shade, woodland and rock gardens. These attractive deciduous plants have relatively large "fishtail" leaves (cleft at the apex). Deinanthes grow at a slow rate to be bushy and shrub-like, 2 ft tall and wide. The leaves attain 3 to 4 inches in length, being deep green, roughly textured, deep veined, cordate at their bases and with serrate margins. The shoots emerge from stout, knobby rhizomes. Leaves are easily damaged in direct sun exposure. Flowering occurs in late summer to early fall. The delicate, waxy, nodding cup-shaped flowers in rich to pale purple-blue, rose or white, are borne in loose terminal clusters. Resembling gargantuan fertile hydrangea flowers, with numerous yellowish to pale blue anthers, they are occasionally accompanied by sterile flowers, as in the lacecap hydrangeas. Roots and leaves are edible.

Species

References

References