Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

fevertree Rubiaceae Pinckneya bracteata (W. Bartram) Raf. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: PIBR6
Leaf: Opposite, simple, elliptical to ovate, 3 to 7 inches long (variable), entire, shiny dark green above, fuzzy below. Leaves tend to cluster at branch ends.
Flower: Long, thin (1 inch), trumpet-shaped, with very showy, large, pink to rose sepals (3 to 4 inches long), appear in late spring in loose clusters at branch ends.
Fruit: Dark brown, 2-valved woody capsule, 1/2 to 2/3 inch in diameter, ripen in fall and persist into winter.
Twig: Moderate, reddish brown with gray pubescences; buds conical, reddish brown, fuzzy (1/4 inch long); leaf scars oval.
Bark: Brown with raised lenticels, eventually becoming scaly on larger specimens.
Form: Large, open, loose shrub to 10 feet tall.
 Looks like: buttonbush

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