Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion
Japanese stewartia
Stewartia pseudocamellia
Underside of leaf. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeKathleen Moore ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Premium four-season specimen with camellia-like flowers and exfoliating bark; avoid hot dry sites.
Simple oval leaves taper to a point and have fine teeth. The flowers and bark add more decisive clues.
More growing details
Read the bark
Exfoliating bark exposes an irregular mosaic of cream, tan, orange, and gray.
Fruit & seed
Dry woody capsules open into sections after flowering.
Winter character
Patchwork bark and slender alternate twigs help when leaves are absent.
Origin & place
An introduced garden species or horticultural hybrid; study it as part of WNC landscapes rather than assume it belongs to the native mountain flora.
Compare with Kousa dogwood
Kousa has opposite leaves and fleshy compound fruits; stewartia leaves are alternate with dry capsules.
WNC Notes
Premium four-season specimen with camellia-like flowers and exfoliating bark; avoid hot dry sites.
Sun Exposure
Full sun–part shade
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
20–40
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
15–30
BLOOM SEASON
Early–mid summer
BLOOM COLOR
White
FALL / WINTER COLOR
Orange-red
Wet-Soil Tolerance
Moderate
Drought Tolerance
Low
LOOK CLOSELY
Two views, a closer look.
Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.
Underside of leaf. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeKathleen Moore ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.Smooth mottled bark — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sun · ◐ Part sun or part shadeKathleen Moore ↗ · CC BY 2.0Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
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