mountain-camellia Theaceae Stewartia ovata (Cav.) Weath. Listen to the Latin symbol: STOV Other Fact Sheets
Leaf: Alternate, simple, broadly ovate, long pointed, to 5 inches long; dark green and shiny above, paler and hairy below; margins entire with fine hairs along the edge (ciliate).
Flower: Very attractive, to 3 inches across, with 5 white fringed petals surrounding showy yellow-orange anthers; appearing in early summer.
Fruit: Dry 1 inch long woody capsule, egg-shaped but sharply pointed, 5 parted.
Twig: Slender, zigzag, light reddish brown; buds flattened and covered in silky white pubescence; leaf scar with 1 bundle scar.
Bark: Ridged and furrowed with gray-brown rounded-top ridges and orange-brown furrows.
Form: A small tree or large shrub to 20 feet tall.
fruit twig bark form1 map
Additional Range Information:
Stewartia ovata is native to North America.
Range may be expanded by planting.
See states reporting mountain-camellia.
External Links:
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
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