Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

American snowbell Styracaceae Styrax americanus Lam. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: STAM4
Leaf: Alternate, simple, elliptical, 1 to 3 inches long, entire or with a few shallow teeth, star-shaped hairs on petiole (may occur on leaf blade as well), green above, paler below.
Flower: Attractive, bell-shaped, 1/2 inch long, 5 white, reflexed (with age) petals, hanging clusters of 1 to 4 flowers from leaf axils, appearing in mid to late spring.
Fruit: Egg shaped, hairy, dry drupe, 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch in diameter, turns a gray-brown when ripe in early fall.
Twig: Slender, gray-brown, zigzag, initially pubescent but becomes glabrous; leaf scar with 1 bundle scar; naked buds, small, blunt and scruffy.
Bark: Smooth, thin, dark gray-brown, when older develops very shallow fissures.
Form: Shrub to small tree with a spreading, open crown reaching up to 10 feet
 Looks like: Japanese snowbell - stewartia

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Additional Range Information: Styrax americanus is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database
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