Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/7/08):
Halesia tetraptera var. monticola
FAMILY
Styracaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Silverbell at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Recent drafts of Weakley's Flora don't recognize the two varieties but do discuss them: "monticola," a large tree, restricted to the Southern Appalachians (and especially the Great Smoky Mountains), the corolla (18-) 20-30mm long, the style included, the anthers well inside the mouth of the corolla tube, and "tetraptera," a smaller tree more widely distributed, the corolla (12-) 15-20mm long, the style slightly exserted, the anthers just within the mouth of the corolla tube. Read more by downloading Weakley's Flora (2022).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Halesia tetraptera var. monticola
FAMILY
Styracaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 152-01-001?:
Halesia carolina FAMILY Styracaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Halesia monticola
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Silverbell
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_859a
)
JK Marlow jkm090412_111
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm090412_117
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Anthers well inside the mouth of the corolla tube, per Weakley's Flora (2008).
)
Ron Lance rwl_halesia_monticola_b
April Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Ron Lance rwl_halesia_monticola_c
April Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Sam Pratt sbp_20140418_155347
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Young bark [as on right] thin, with an orange-striped pattern, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Terry Gentry tmg_p4020065
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_041
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm060508_046
May Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm080504_104
May Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Large tree to 40m tall (vs. var. tetraptera, a shrub or small tree to 10m), per Weakley's Flora (2008).
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Ron Lance rwl2190_a
May
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JK Marlow jkm170818_663
August Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm190913_1433
September Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/7/08):
Halesia tetraptera var. monticola
FAMILY
Styracaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Halesia tetraptera var. monticola
FAMILY
Styracaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 152-01-001?:
Halesia carolina
FAMILY
Styracaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Halesia monticola
2190
Tree
Perennial
Look for it in cove forests, moist ridges, mostly above 1000m in elevation, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
Margins serrate
FLOWER:
Spring
White or shaded with pink
4-merous
Synsepalous calyx, lobes minute
4-lobed campanulate corolla
8-16 stamens
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Fruits broadly 4-winged
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p292
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p360
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p193?
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p239?
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p158