''Stewartia monadelpha'', known as tall stewartia or orangebark stewartia, is a deciduous shrub or multi-stemmed tree native to the temperate rainforests of Japan. ''Stewartia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. The genus name ''Stewartia'' is in honor of 16th century Scottish botanist, John Stuart.

Distribution and habitat

Tall stewartia is endemic to

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 primarily grows in cool, montane temperate rainforest zones; specifically, south-central

Honshu , 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 separ ...

Kyushu 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 surroun ...

and Shikoku islands. It is also cultivated in other countries as an ornamental plant.

Description

Its appearance varies from a sturdy shrub too a small tree with orange or cinnamon-brown colored bark. It typically grows to a height of but has been known to reach . As the plant matures its form changes from a pyramidal crown to become more open with horizontal branches reaching outwards. The dark green leaves are elliptic and oblong in shape and have serrated edges, growing to approximately long, and turn red in the autumn. In June, small cupped flowers appear, growing wide the flowers are white with yellow stamens, similar in appearance to

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy ...

flowers.

Ecology

This plant grows best in partial shade, but having an excellent heat tolerance, is able to grow well in full sunlight. In terms of soil, tall stewartia can tolerate well-drained clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soils.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15393682 monadelpha Endemic flora of Japan Trees of Japan Plants described in 1841 Taxa named by Philipp Franz von Siebold Taxa named by Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini