The inflorescence is a corymb. The showy, sterile flowers are usually absent or if present they are usually less than 1 cm in diameter. Flowering occurs May to July. Fruit is a ribbed brown capsule about 2 mm long; many are produced. The leaves are large (8 to 18 cm long), opposite, serrated, ovate, and deciduous. The lower leaf surface is glabrous or with inconspicuous fine hairs, appearing green; trichomes of the lower surface are restricted to the midrib and major veins. The stem bark has a peculiar tendency to peel off in several successive thin layers with different colors, hence the common name "sevenbark". Smooth hydrangea can spread rapidly by stolons to form colonies