Virginia Tech Dendrology

fragrant snowbell Styracaceae Styrax obassia Siebold & Zucc. symbol:
Leaf: Alternate, simple, broadly ovate, mostly entire with small teeth or finely serrate, to 8 inches long, lustrous, green above, slightly paler below.
Flower: White, 3/4 inch wide, yellow stamens, bell-shaped, five lobed, hanging from a long green stalk, fragrant, appearing in May.
Fruit: Egg-shaped or round drupe, 1/2 inch long, grayish green, maturing in late summer and persisting to fall.
Twig: Medium, gray to reddish brown to light brown, zigzag, initially scruffy but becoming glabrous, naked scruffy buds, no true end bud.
Bark: Smooth, gray-brown becoming orange-brown, fissured, attractive with age.
Form: A small tree that reaches 20 to 30 feet in height with equal spread, horizontal branches, rounded crown, low-branched.

Additional Range Information: Styrax obassia is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: - Horticulture Information
All material 2021 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information