OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stewartia ovata   FAMILY Theaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stewartia ovata   FAMILY Theaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Stewartia ovata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 124-01-002:

Stewartia ovata   FAMILY Theaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Malachodendron pentagynum

 

COMMON NAME:
Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_stpe7_001_lvd

        

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm160422_093

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Petiole winged, enclosing buds. Twigs brown, glabrous, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm160422_095

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Leaves similar to S. malacodendron, but to 6" long, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm160422_096

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm160422_100

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Bark brown or gray-brown, fissured, with narrow ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm180427_1517

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Leaf blades ovate to nearly elliptical, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm180427_1517b

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Leaves obscurely serrate or crenate, and conspicuously ciliate-margined, per Weakley's Flora (2018).

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm180427_1518

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm180427_1521b

April    Sevier County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Leaf lower surfaces light green, finely pubescent, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm100618_021

June    Cherokee County    NC

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm100618_024

June    Cherokee County    NC

Leaves borne in horizontal planes reminiscent of Cornus florida & alternifolia, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

JK Marlow    jkm100618_030

June    Cherokee County    NC

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_s_ovata_lulafalls06_6

June    Walker County    GA

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_stewartia_ovata_2

June        

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

Sam Pratt    sbp_3222

June    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_062921otto10

June    Macon County    NC

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

Dan Whitten    sdw_mtn_camelia

June    Oconee County    SC

Devils Fork State Park

The numerous stamens have yellow anthers and the 5 styles are separate, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE Stewartias

image of Stewartia ovata, Mountain Camellia, Mountain Stewartia

Dan Whitten    sdw_stewartia4

June    Oconee County    SC

Devils Fork State Park

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Stewartia ovata   FAMILY Theaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Stewartia ovata   FAMILY Theaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Stewartia ovata

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 124-01-002:
Stewartia ovata   FAMILY Theaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Malachodendron pentagynum

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1467

Shrub; Tree
Perennial

Habitat: Mesic forests, especially along streams and on acidic bluffs, often in openings in rhododendron thickets (‘hells’), in the Coastal Plain of VA restricted to ravines, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon in GA Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Summer
White
5 sepals (rarely 6-7)
5 petals (rarely 6-7)
Numerous stamens, adnate to the petals
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME: