''Stewartia pseudocamellia'', also known as Korean stewartia, Japanese stewartia,
or deciduous camellia,
[ is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae, ]native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to Japan (southern Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...
, Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
, Shikoku) and Korea.
Names
It is called ''natsutsubaki''(, "summer camellia") in Japanese,[Trees and shrubs of Japan]
natsutsubaki
and ''nogaknamu''(, "overripe cucumber tree") in Korean.[Korean Forest Research Institute]
Korean Stewartia
The Latin specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''pseudocamellia'' references the flower’s resemblance to the related camellia.
Description
It is a small to medium sized deciduous tree, growing to 10–15 m (rarely to 18 m) tall[Bean, W. J. (1980). ''Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles'' 4: 507-513. .][Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Collins Photographic Guide to Trees''. .] often with multiple stems and/or low branching trunks. The bark is smooth textured, exfoliating as the plants age, and has a camouflaged or mottled appearance with patterns of dull orange and green with grey mixed in. The trees are pyramidal to rounded in shape with deep green coloured foliage. Young stems have a zig-zag shape with flattened, divergent buds. The leaves are 4–12 cm long and 2.5–5 cm broad, arranged alternately on the stems with an elliptical shape and finely serrated edges. In the fall the foliage turns yellow, red or purple. The flowers are up to 8 cm wide, with five white petal
Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...
s with orange anther
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
s; they are shaped like those of the related '' Camellia'', round and flat to somewhat cupped. They are produced in summer, generally in June until the end of August; each flower is short-lived, but many are produced that open over many weeks. The fruit is a brown capsule, triangular in shape with four or five angles, persistent on the trees but not showy.
Varieties
There are two varieties:
Cultivation
''Stewartia pseudocamellia'' is an attractive ornamental tree that grows best in rich organic soils with good drainage and consistent moisture throughout the year. It is grown in full sun, but under hot and dry conditions it grows best in some light shade during the afternoon. It is used as a specimen planting in shrub borders or as a specimen in lawn plantings, having year round interest. It can be temperamental to establish and younger trees transplant best. When grown with single trunks they form taller more pyramidal shaped trees, when having multiple trunks plants tend to grow shorter and spread out wider. In the wild in Japan plants have been known to grow tall, and in cultivation have already reached up to tall.
''S. pseudocamellia'' was introduced into western cultivation in 1874, and has survived winters as cold as .
In the UK this plant,Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
.
Gallery
Image:Stewartia pseudocamellia 01.JPG, Flower
Image:Japanese Stewartia Branch Stewartia pseudocamellia 3000px.jpg, Foliage and fruit
Image:Japanese Stewartia Stewartia pseudocamellia Leaves Vertical 2000px.jpg, Foliage
Image:Japanese Stewartia Stewartia pseudocamellia Leaves Closeup 3008px.jpg, Foliage closeup
Image:Japanese Stewartia Leaf Cluster Stewartia pseudocamellia 2000px.jpg, Foliage and fruit
Image:Japanese Stewartia Stewartia pseudocamellia Trunk Base 1639px.jpg, Trunk and distinctive bark
Image:Japanese Stewartia Stewartia pseudocamellia Branches 2000px.jpg, Branching from trunk
Image:Japanese Stewartia Stewartia pseudocamellia Bud 2000px.jpg, A bud in early spring
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1041653
pseudocamellia
Trees of Korea