Hydrangea arborescens is an easily found perrenial shrub understory plant of eastern woodlands.
A meter to shoulder height. The leaves are opposite ovate to a sharp point with moderately serrated edges, on an extended petiole, the leaf veination is more pronounced on the underside, and a lighter green. The plant has an interesting cyme panicle with white, sterile 3-4 petaled phlox like flowers around the flat topped bunches. It has an extended bloom time from spring to late summer. If you look at the flowers you imagine they would turn into berries but I don't think they do. There are cultivated varieties around peoples houses that have a more snow ball appearance which I have never seen in the wild free varieties, do not use the cultivated variety only the wild.
Hydrangea has diuretic properties, meaning it promotes urination, kidney activity. It relates well to kidney, bladder, uti, prostate and other likewise complaints in male and female. Use the dug up root which you can sometimes clean with a nylon brush rinsing in water, or lightly peel scrape with a knife, then cut into small pieces to dry or tincture. It's easy to find in winter because you can identify the flower tops from last summer if you need to gather in winter.
Hydrangea root is usually combined with a couple different herbs for a specific condition. For example if uti is the issue you may want to use it with pipsisewa and or uva-ursi, and yellow root, a mahonia or golden seal. These could probably be best used as a strong tea. For prostate combine with carolina saw berries, stinging nettle root. For stones maybe joe pye and some kind of antispasmodic like viburnum cramp bark, silk tassel and so on.
Some people have recently made a topical with hydrangea root a for sunscreen made with butter, lard or olive oil, a little bees wax and creosote bush. The roots contain a compound called hydrangin, aka 7-hydroxycoumarin, which has been used in sunscreens.
Definitely spend some time with hydrangea
