Hydrangea, () commonly named the hortensia, is a genus of over 75 species of flowering plants native to Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Korea, and Japan. Most are shrubs tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous. Hydrangea is derived from Greek and means ‘water vessel’ (from húdōr "water" + ángos or angeîon "vessel"), in reference to the shape of its seed capsules. The earlier name, Hortensia, is a Latinised version of the French given name Hortense, honoring French astronomer and mathematician Nicole-Reine Hortense Lepaute. This claim is disputed in page 88 on citation 10 at Nicole-Reine Hortense Lepaute page, which says: "Larousse considers this an injustice, and remarks that it has led many persons to the erroneous notion that "Hortensia" was one of her names; it was probably only the Latin adjective from "hortus". The flowers of hydrangea act as natural pH indicators, sporting blue flowers when the soil is acidic and pink when the soil is alkaline. Life cycle Hydrangea flowers are produced from early spring to late autumn; they grow in flowerheads (corymbs or panicles) most often at the ends of the stems. Typically the flowerheads contain two types of flowers: small non-showy fertile flowers in the center or interior of the flowerhead, and large, sterile showy flowers with large colorful sepals (tepals). These showy flowers are often extended in a ring, or to the exterior of the small flowers. Plants in wild populations typically have few to none of the showy flowers, while cultivated hydrangeas have been bred and selected to have more of the larger type flowers. There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas with corymb style inflorescences, which includes the commonly grown "bigleaf hydrangea"—Hydrangea macrophylla. Mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, small flowers surrounded by outer rings of larger flowers having showy sepals or tepals. The flowers of some rhododendrons and viburnums can appear, at first glance, similar to those of some hydrangeas. Hydrangea flowers, when cut, dehydrate easily and wilt very quickly due to the large surface area of the petals. A