Stewartia Pseudocamellia

''Stewartia pseudocamellia'', also known as Korean stewartia, Japanese stewartia, or deciduous camellia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae, native to Japan (southern Honshū, Kyūshū, 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 ''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) tallBean, 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 petals with orange anthers; 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:
*''Stewartia pseudocamellia'' var. ''japonica'' Maxim. Japan. Flowers open cup-shaped.
*''Stewartia pseudocamellia'' var. ''koreana'' (Nakai ex Rehd.) Sealy. Korea. Flowers open flat. Often treated as a separate species ''S. koreana'' Nakai ex Rehd., mainly in Korea.

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, and the Koreana Group, have received the Royal Horticultural Society's 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