Habitat

• native to Japan

Habit and Form

• deciduous
• small to medium tree
• pyramidal to oval outline
• often multi-trunked or branching low

Summer Foliage

• alternate, elliptical with fine serrations
• deep green color

Autumn Foliage

• very good show
• colors yellow, red and purple

Flowers

• solitary blooms June-August
• white petals with orange anthers
• like a white Camellia bloom
• individual blooms fall quickly but many open in succession

Fruit

• brown, pointed capsule
• triangular with 4-5 angles
• persistent, but not ornamental

Bark

• older bark exfoliates
• camouflage pattern orange, green, grey
• smooth, muscled texture

Culture

• enriched organic soils with good drainage
• even moisture
• shelter from afternoon sun
• move as a small plant; difficult to establish

Landscape Uses

• specimen in shrub borders, lawns
• place where can be viewed all year

Liabilities

• does not establish easily
• dislikes intense heat and drought
• often expensive

ID Features

• flattened, divergent buds
• young stems zig-zag
• exfoliating bark
• persistent pointed capsules
• white camellia-like blooms in summer

Propagation

• by seed
• by cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

'Ballet' - A selection out of the Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha's Vineyard, MA, this plant is unique due to its more spreading habit and larger flowert, to almost 4" wide.

'Cascade' - This is a semi-weeping form with genty drooping branches and growing tips. It grows very slowly.

'Milk and Honey' - Occasionally offered by specialty nurseries, this Polly Hill introduction reportedly bears profuse quantities of larger blooms and bark color that is brighter in intensity.

"Pink Form" - This rare selection has light white-pink flowers that open from pinkish buds. The effect is not a great departure from the species, and the plant is rarely seen.