Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese snowbell Styracaceae Styrax japonicus Siebold & Zucc. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: STJA5
Leaf: Alternate, simple, elliptical to ovate, finely or sparsely serrated, 2 to 4 inches long, lustrous, green above, slightly paler below.
Flower: White (or light pink), 3/4 inch wide, yellow stamens, bell-shaped, five lobed, hanging from a green stalk, appearing in May to June.
Fruit: Egg-shaped or round drupe, 1/2 inch long, grayish green, maturing in late summer and persisting to fall.
Twig: Slender, gray to reddish brown to light brown, zigzag, scruffy, 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.
 Looks like: American snowbell - stewartia

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Additional Range Information: Styrax japonicus 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: 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