silverbell Styracaceae Halesia
|Leaf: Alternate, simple, 3 to 6 inches long, ovate in shape, with a serrate to toothed margin, dark green above, pale and somewhat pubescent below.
Flower: Very showy white, 4-petaled, bell-shaped, 3/4 to 1 inch long, borne on long stalks in clusters of 4 to 5, appearing in spring.
Fruit: A very distinctive oblong, dry, 2-winged, corky drupe that is 1 1/2 to 2 inches long, fleshy fruit matures in autumn, dries, and disperses over winter.
Twig: Somewhat zig-zag (terminal bud is absent), brown in color with reddish brown buds; the pith is white and chambered.
Bark: When young, red-brown with white stripes, forming a rough diamond-shape pattern; older trees develop ridges and furrows.
Form: A large shrub or a medium tree with a rounded crown, var. tetraptera commonly to 35 feet and var. monticola to over 100 feet.
Looks like: two-wing silverbell
- common persimmon
| Additional Range Information:
Halesia tetraptera is native to North America.
Range may be expanded by planting.
See states reporting silverbell.
| External Links:
Silvics of North America
USDA Plants Database
|© Copyright 2016, Virginia Tech|
Dept. of Forest Resources
and Environmental Conservation,
all rights reserved.
Photos and text by: John Seiler,
Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera,
and John Peterson