Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stewartia ovata
FAMILY
Theaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Stewartia at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stewartia ovata
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Stewartia ovata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 124-01-002:
Stewartia ovata FAMILY Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Malachodendron pentagynum
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_stpe7_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm160422_093
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Petiole winged, enclosing buds. Twigs brown, glabrous, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm160422_095
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves similar to S. malacodendron, but to 6" long, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm160422_096
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160422_100
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Bark brown or gray-brown, fissured, with narrow ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm180427_1517
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaf blades ovate to nearly elliptical, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm180427_1517b
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaves obscurely serrate or crenate, and conspicuously ciliate-margined, per Weakley's Flora (2018).
)
JK Marlow jkm180427_1518
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm180427_1521b
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Leaf lower surfaces light green, finely pubescent, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm100618_021
June Cherokee County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm100618_024
June Cherokee County NC
Leaves borne in horizontal planes reminiscent of Cornus florida & alternifolia, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm100618_030
June Cherokee County NC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_s_ovata_lulafalls06_6
June Walker County GA
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_stewartia_ovata_2
June
)
Sam Pratt sbp_3222
June Spartanburg County SC
In cultivation
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_062921otto10
June Macon County NC
)
Dan Whitten sdw_mtn_camelia
June Oconee County SC
Devils Fork State Park
The numerous stamens have yellow anthers and the 5 styles are separate, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
Stewartias
)
Dan Whitten sdw_stewartia4
June Oconee County SC
Devils Fork State Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stewartia ovata
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stewartia ovata
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Stewartia ovata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 124-01-002:
Stewartia ovata
FAMILY
Theaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Malachodendron pentagynum
1467
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Mesic forests, especially along streams and on acidic bluffs, often in openings in rhododendron thickets (‘hells’), in the Coastal Plain of VA restricted to ravines, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in GA Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer
White
5 sepals (rarely 6-7)
5 petals (rarely 6-7)
Numerous stamens, adnate to the petals
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p086
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p102
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p232
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p154
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p192
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p119
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p094
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p331
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p381
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p243
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p35
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p340
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