Dichroa versicolor

The genus name comes from the Greek dichroos, meaning "two-colored," and Dichroa versicolor presses the idea further: bloom color shifts with soil chemistry much the way a hydrangea does, swinging from deep cobalt to soft mauve depending on how much aluminum a plant can draw up. The species epithet versicolor only doubles down on the point, promising a shrub that refuses to settle on a single shade.

Botanically this is the close cousin of the more familiar Dichroa febrifuga, but built on a grander scale, with leaves three to four times larger and lacecap-like corymbs that can stretch nearly a foot across. Think of the plant as an evergreen hydrangea analog for the gardener who has run out of shade-garden ideas: glossy, deep green leaves the size of a hand, held on dark stems that read almost lacquered in winter light. The species climbs the high, cool mountains of Taiwan, which is part of why these shrubs hold up better in southeastern gardens than a tropical reputation might suggest. Woodlanders' stock traces to a seed exchange between Scott McMahan at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and a high-elevation Taiwanese collection, a provenance that shows in the surprising cold tolerance.

The genus carries a heavier cultural weight through that famous cousin: Dichroa febrifuga is the Chinese quinine of traditional medicine, one of the classic fever herbs of the old pharmacopoeia. Dichroa versicolor is grown instead for pure ornament, and in Hong Kong and parts of southern China the shrub has long done double duty as a garden plant and an informal hedge. We have found the same to be true here, whether the shrub is looped along a shaded path or settled in beside taller camellias where the arching stems can borrow a little structure.

In the garden, give Dichroa versicolor a spot in morning sun or dappled shade where the outsized blooms and, in a good year, the iridescent metallic berries can be read at close range. Acidic, aluminum-rich soil deepens the blue of both flower and fruit, while sweeter ground pushes the same plant toward lavender and pink. Pair the shrub with hydrangeas, ferns, hostas, and aucuba for a lush, shade-loving grouping, and plant a second clone nearby to coax the fullest set of those turquoise-to-near-black berries. A plant for the collector who already owns the hydrangeas and is ready for something quieter and stranger.