The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: silky stewartia, Virginia stewartia, silky-camellia

Family: Theaceae (tea family)

Distribution: s.e. United States

IUCN Red list: Least concern

Hardiness: USDA Zone 6

Life form: Deciduous tree

Comments: Silky camellia makes a wonderful garden addition as an accent or specimen plant. It produces an abundance of large white camellia-like flowers with pale pink to purple centers that bloom in mid-summer. It's an interesting plant year-round, as the cinnamon-colored bark is also very showy and the dark green foliage turns purple-bronze in fall. Grows 10-15 feet tall.