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.