Carolina Silverbell
Halesia tetraptera
Styracaceae (Styrax Family)
▲▼ flowering trees
▲▼ flowers
▲▼ leaves
▲ trunk and bark
Location on Missouri State University campus: west side of Siceluff Hall
Halesia caroliniana: Carolina Silverbell
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leaves
alternate, deciduous, simple, oval with pointed tips and serrate margins; dark
green and hairless at maturity on upper side, and pubescent underneath; both
sides hairy when first emerging
·
stems
thin, brown, smooth to pubescent, with bark/epidermis becoming stringy in second
year of growth
·
buds
pointed, oval, scaled, 0.125—0.25 inches long
·
bark
is gray-brown or black, with vertical lighter stripes when medium aged, becoming
furrowed and platey with age
·
grows
30-40 feet tall, sometimes much larger, with equal or slightly more narrow width
·
flowers showy, white, bell-like in mid-spring either before or with leaf
emergence
·
fruit
is an oval, 4-winged drupe, 1.5 inches lon
·
prefers part shade to moderate shade in moist, fertile acidic soils; an
understory tree in nature
·
slow
to medium growth rate
·
native
to Missouri