Stuartia
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 Stuartia pseudocamellia
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Stuartia malacodendron |
Stuartia is a genus of eight species of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, related to Camellia. Six of the species are native to eastern Asia in China and Japan, and two (S. malacodendron, S. ovata) in southeast North America, from Virginia and Kentucky south to Florida and Louisiana.
They are shrubs and trees, mostly deciduous, though one species (S. pteropetiolata) is evergreen. The American species are shrubs growing 3-5 m tall, while the Asian species are trees, growing to 10-20 m tall. The bark is very distinctive, smooth orange to yellow-brown, peeling in fine flakes. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, serrated, usually glossy, and 3-14 cm long. The flowers are large and conspicuous, 3-11 cm diameter, with 5 (occasionally 6-8) white petals; flowering is in mid to late summer. The fruit is a dry five-valved capsule, with 1-4 seeds in each section.
The species are adapted to acidic soils, and do not grow well on chalk or other calcium-rich soils. They also have a high rainfall requirement and will not tolerate drought.
Stuartia was named by Carolus Linnaeus after John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. Owing to a transcription error, Linnaeus was given the name as 'Stewart', and consequently spelled the name "Stewartia"; this spelling is still occasionally seen, although the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature stipulates this is an orthographic error to be corrected to Stuartia.
[edit] Cultivation and uses
Several species of Stuartia are grown as ornamental plants for their very decorative smooth orange bark and their flowers produced at a time of year when few other trees are in flower.
