Quite rare plant from Hydrangea family is finally in bloom, I think it is on Rock & Siebold Trails Dichroa febrifuga, Blue Evergreen Hydrangea. It is an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is considered one of the 50 fundamental herbs
Has been on the market down here, including at walk-in garden centers - I think I've seen that one near here has it displayed with hydrangeas. The Plant Locator - Western Region (2004, Black-Eyed Susans/Timber, Portland) had 13 listings, including one for a form designated as "UBC".
Here are the fruits on October 7. Nadia said she was disappointed in them. They didn't make for a great photo either.
We've given this Dichroa febrifuga a bad rap for having boring berries, but it looked exciting today. I don't even understand - in 2013, the fruit photo was from October, so current year fruits, hadn't gone through a winter yet. These are surely from last year.
This has been renamed Hydrangea febrifuga. See Daniel Mosquin's posting in Asian Garden: - Hydrangea febrifuga