Mountain Camellia
>> Thursday, January 5, 2012
Description
Scientific Names: Stewartia ovata, Stuartia ovata
Common Names: Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia, Summer Dogwood, Showy Stewartia
Plant Type: Small deciduous tree.
Height: 15 to 20 feet.
Native Habitat: Understory of hardwood forests, often near streams. Usually below 2500 feet.
Native Range: Scattered areas in the central and southern United States.
Conservation Status: NatureServe lists Stewartia ovata as Imperiled in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; Critically Imperiled in Mississippi; Imperiled or Vulnerable in Alabama; and possibly Vulnerable in Georgia and Kentucky.
Cultivation: Mountain stewartia can tolerate fairly heavy shade, but will grow faster and bloom more profusely if it receives at least a few hours of direct sunlight. It can take full sun in cooler climates, but partial or dappled shade might be best in the South. Try to give it a moist humus-rich soil with good drainage, and keep young trees well-watered, especially in hot climates or sunny exposures. Droughts can cause early leaf drop. Seeds require about 5 months warm stratification followed by about 3 months of cold stratification.
Related Species: A similar native species, Stewartia malacodendron, is found in scattered locations from Virginia to Texas, mostly at low elevations near the coast. Known as Silky camellia or Virginia stewartia, it has four-inch white blossoms with purple stamens and blue antlers. The only other Stewartia species are native to Asia, Stewartia pseudocamellia or Japanese stewartia is a small, slow-growing, pyramidal, deciduous tree which typically matures over time to 20-40 feet tall, this plant located in Japan. More distant relatives include Franklinia and various camellias.
Flowering Time: July.Scientific Names: Stewartia ovata, Stuartia ovata
Common Names: Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia, Summer Dogwood, Showy Stewartia
Plant Type: Small deciduous tree.
Height: 15 to 20 feet.
Native Habitat: Understory of hardwood forests, often near streams. Usually below 2500 feet.
Native Range: Scattered areas in the central and southern United States.
Conservation Status: NatureServe lists Stewartia ovata as Imperiled in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; Critically Imperiled in Mississippi; Imperiled or Vulnerable in Alabama; and possibly Vulnerable in Georgia and Kentucky.
Cultivation: Mountain stewartia can tolerate fairly heavy shade, but will grow faster and bloom more profusely if it receives at least a few hours of direct sunlight. It can take full sun in cooler climates, but partial or dappled shade might be best in the South. Try to give it a moist humus-rich soil with good drainage, and keep young trees well-watered, especially in hot climates or sunny exposures. Droughts can cause early leaf drop. Seeds require about 5 months warm stratification followed by about 3 months of cold stratification.
Related Species: A similar native species, Stewartia malacodendron, is found in scattered locations from Virginia to Texas, mostly at low elevations near the coast. Known as Silky camellia or Virginia stewartia, it has four-inch white blossoms with purple stamens and blue antlers. The only other Stewartia species are native to Asia, Stewartia pseudocamellia or Japanese stewartia is a small, slow-growing, pyramidal, deciduous tree which typically matures over time to 20-40 feet tall, this plant located in Japan. More distant relatives include Franklinia and various camellias.
The Mountain Camellia is a rare small tree native to the southern Appalachian region. It is removed with the evergreen camellias of Asia and used them in some ways resembles, but is not always green. As we rest in the case, it can better survive the cold winters American. The plant is called Mountain Stewartia and Summer Dogwood. It is most common in low and middle altitudes of the Great Smoky Mountains and on the Tennessee portion of the Cumberland Plateau. Some isolated populations are also in other areas, including small stands near Williamsburg, Virginia, and found in northern Mississippi.
The type blooms later than most native plants, the early to mid summer. His beautiful camellia flowers are about 3 inches wide, white waxy leaves and yellow stamens. There is also an uncommon form called Stewartia ovata Grandiflora, which has larger flowers and purple stamens. This form, sometimes known as Showy Stewartia is reportedly most common in the state of the trees in the vicinity of Williamsburg, but it has also been observed in other areas. Wild specimens are usually less than 20 meters high and often bushes. They grow in the forest undergrowth or on the edges of the openings along streams. The leaves are oval shaped and orange, red or gold in autumn before dropping. Woody seed capsules, about 1 cm long, can hang on the tree in the winter. Stewartia ovata as a species seems quite variable.
Horticulturist Polly Hill planted seeds collected from samples of the Grandiflora form and found some remarkable differences between the resulting plants. The flower shown on this page, with purple stamens and orange antlers is, form a Grandiflora. The photo was taken in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. According to some authorities, the proper scientific name for this type Stuartia ovata, but the older name Stewartia ovata is still in common usage. Mountain Camellia can be difficult to obtain and difficult to grow. But if you be successful with it to be, you have a very rare and beautiful plant.
Uses
Lawn specimen, patios, shrub borders or native plant garden. This unusual tree deserves a prominent place in the landscape. Many people use this plant as an ornamental plant because this plant has a very beautiful flower. On the other hand, these plants began threatened in their natural habitat. Mountain Camellia can be difficult to obtain and difficult to grow. But if you are successful on him, you have a very rare and beautiful plant.
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