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You are here: Home / Learn / Trees & Plants / Bernheim Select Urban Trees / two-winged silverbell

two-winged silverbell

halesia diptera treetwo-winged silverbell, Halesia diptera

Scientific Name

Halesia was named for the Reverend Stephen Hale (1677-1761), a physiologist and author of Vegetable Staticks (1727); diptera is Greek for “two-winged” and refers to the fruit.

Common Name

Two-winged silverbell is derived from the winged fruits and the flowers that resemble small silver bells. Other names include snowdrop tree.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND NATIVE HABITAT

Two-winged silverbell’s native range is South Carolina and Tennessee to Florida and Texas. Plants are found in sheltered woods, swamps, streams and bottomlands. Two-winged silverbell is in the Styracaceae family. Halesia is a small genus containing 5 species of shrubs or small trees. Only one species of Halesia is not native to eastern North America.

CONSERVATION INFORMATION

Not native to Kentucky.

Halesia_diptera_leafDESCRIPTION

Growth Habit and Form

Two-winged silverbell is a beautiful, small, multi-stemmed or low-branched, round-headed tree. It grows 20 to 30 feet high and wide.

Leaves

Leaves are simple, nearly circular or disk-shaped and arranged alternately on the stem. Leaves are 3 to 5 ½ inches long and 1 ½ to 3 inches wide, dark green and glabrous above with hairy veins below. Leaf edges are minutely toothed and leaf tips taper to a point. The deciduous leaves turn yellowish-green in autumn before dropping.

halesia diptera flowersFlowers

Two-winged silverbell bears white flowers with four deeply cut lobes. Flowers are ½ to 1 ¼ inches long. The bell-shaped flowers bloom in drooping clusters of 3 to 6 before the leaves appear. Flowers bloom in April and May and are pollinated by insects.

Fruit

The light green fruits have 2 to 4 thin wings and are 1 ½ to 2 inches long. Fruits ripen to brown in September and October. The fruits contain a hard stone with 1 to 3 seeds that are scattered by wind. The dry, dark brown fruits may remain on plants through winter.

Bark

The grayish-brown bark has silvery undertones.

Wild and Cultivated Varieties

The variety magniflora produces more abundant and larger flowers than the species.

HORTICULTURE

Landscape Use

Two-winged silverbell may be used as a specimen or understory plant. Plants are also used in groupings, shrub borders or woodland gardens.

Hardiness Zone

Hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 9.

Growth Rate

Growth rate is medium, 9 to 12’ over a 6 to 8 year period.

Cultivation and Propagation Information

Growth is best in moist, fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soils. Plants prefer full sun or partial shade on cool, sheltered sites.

Diseases and Insects

None serious.

Wildlife Considerations

Two-winged silverbell provides homes and shelter for wildlife.

Maintenance Practices

Two-winged silverbell requires minimal attention given appropriate cultural conditions.

TRADITIONAL AND MODERN USES

Two-winged silverbell is a beautiful ornamental tree and not well-known in gardens. It was introduced into cultivation in 1758.

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