The Dawes Arboretum

Common name: beaked stewartia

Family: Theaceae (tea family)

Distribution: China

IUCN Red list: Data deficient

Hardiness: USDA Zone 6

Life form: Deciduous tree

Comments: This is a Chinese species of stewartia that was introduced to the US in 1936 from the Lushan Botanic Garden of China. It grows into a large upright shrub or small tree, reaching up to 20-30 feet tall. The flower buds are surrounded by showy, reddish-maroon bracts, and then open up in late spring or early summer to beautiful white camellia-like flowers. The bark is gray-brown, and the foliage is glossy dark green and turns red in fall.