''Loropetalum'' is a genus of four species of

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s or small trees in the

witch-hazel Witch-hazels or witch hazels (''Hamamelis'') are a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with three species in North America ('' H. ovalis'', '' H. virginiana'', and '' H. vernalis''), and one each in Japan ('' H.&nb ...

family,

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier system ...

, native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and south-eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Description

Flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are produced in clusters during spring and are similar to those of the closely related

. Each flower consists of four to six (depending on species) slender strap shaped petals 1–2 cm long.

Taxonomy

''Loropetalum'' is placed in tribe Loropetaleae, subfamily Hamamelidoideae, family

of the

Saxifragales The Saxifragales (saxifrages) are an order of flowering plants (Angiosperms). They are an extremely diverse group of plants which include trees, shrubs, perennial herbs, succulent and aquatic plants. The degree of diversity in terms of vege ...

Etymology

The name ''Loropetalum'' refers to the shape of the flowers and comes from the Greek ''loron'' meaning strap and ''petalon'' meaning petal.

Species

The species are: *''

Loropetalum chinense ''Loropetalum chinense'' is commonly known as loropetalum,"Floridata Pl ...

'' - white-flowering variety up to 3.7 m tall, pink-flowering variety up to 1.5 m tall *'' Loropetalum flavum'' - yellow flowers *'' Loropetalum lanceum'' - up to 13 m tall, white flowers *'' Loropetalum subcordatum'' - up to 12 m tall

Description

Taxonomy

Etymology

Species

References

Bibliography

External links