southwards. Natural wild plants, formerly sometimes distinguished as H. macrophylla var. normalis E.H.Wilson, have "lacecap" structure flowerheads, with a few large sterile showy bract-like flowers that act as targets for pollinators, surrounding a central cluster of small fertile flowers. A closely related hydrangea from the mountains of the interior of Japan, Hydrangea serrata, was treated as a variety of H. macrophylla by some authors in the past, but is currently treated as a separate species.

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