View source for Halesia

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Styracaceae
|genus=Halesia
|common_name=Silverbells, Snowdrop Tree
|habit=shrub
|Min ht metric=cm
|lifespan=perennial
|features=flowers
|flower_season=late spring
|Temp Metric=°F
|image=Halesia carolina0.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_caption=''Halesia carolina'' (? ''H. tetraptera'')
}}
{{Inc|
Halesia (Stephen Hale, 1677-1761, author of a famous work on "Vegetable Statics"). Syn. Mohrodendron. Styracaceae. Silver-Bell. Snowdrop-tree. Trees or large shrubs grown for their handsome white flowers, appearing in spring.

Deciduous and more or less stellate-pubescent: lvs. short-petioled, without stipules, involute in bud, denticulate: fls. in axillary clusters or short racemes on branchlets of the previous year; calyx-tube obconical, slightly 4-ribbed, with 4 minute teeth; corolla campanulate, 4-lobed or nearly 4-parted, white; stamens 8-16; style slender; ovary inferior, 2-4-celled, with 4 ovules in each cell: fr. an oblong, dry drupe with 2-4 longitudinal wings; stone 1-3-seeded.—Three species in N. Amer.

The snowdrop-trees are large shrubs or trees with rather large bright green generally oblong and short- stalked leaves and white slender-stalked drooping bell-shaped flowers appearing before or with the leaves and followed by winged light brown fruits. Halesia Carolina is hardy as far north as Massachusetts and is very handsome in spring when covered with its white flowers. Halesia diptera is hardy as far north as Philadelphia and is usually a smaller plant, but has larger flowers and leaves. They thrive in almost any good soil, but prefer a rich well-drained soil and a sheltered position; they are easily transplanted. Propagation is by layers or root-cuttings in spring or autumn; also by greenwood cuttings taken from forced plants. Seed should be sown at once or stratified: if allowed to become dry, it does not germinate until the second or sometimes the third year.
}}
'''''Halesia''''' ('''Silverbell''' or '''Snowdrop Tree''') is a small [[genus]] of four or five species of [[deciduous]] large [[shrub]]s or small [[tree]]s in the family [[Styracaceae]], native to eastern [[Asia]] (southeast [[China]]) and eastern [[North America]] (southern [[Ontario]], [[Canada]] south to [[Florida]] and eastern [[Texas]], [[United States]]). They grow to 5-20 m tall (rarely to 39 m), and have alternate, simple ovate [[leaf|leaves]] 5-16 cm long and 3-8 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are pendulous, white or pale pink, produced in open clusters of 2-6 together, each flower 1-3 cm long. The [[fruit]] is an oblong dry [[drupe]] 2-4 cm long, with two or four narrow longitudinal ribs or wings.

==Cultivation==
<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->

===Propagation===
<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->

===Pests and diseases===
<!--- Type pest/disease info below this line, then delete this entire line -->

==Species==
*''[[Halesia carolina]]'' L. - eastern North America ([[synonymy|syn.]] ''H. parviflora'' '''or''' ''H. tetraptera'')
*''[[Halesia diptera]]'' Ellis - southeastern North America
*''[[Halesia macgregorii]]'' Chun - eastern China
*''[[Halesia monticola]]'' (Rehd.) Sarg. - eastern North America (syn. ''H. carolina'' var. ''monticola''; ''H. tetraptera'' var. ''monticola'')
*''[[Halesia parviflora]]'' Michx. - eastern North America
*''[[Halesia tetraptera]]'' Ellis - eastern North America

''H. diptera'' is the most distinct, readily distinguished from the other taxa by its two-winged fruit; the other taxa all have four-winged fruit.

''H. monticola'' is by far the largest of the genus, with specimens up to 39 m tall known in  the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] in [[North Carolina]]; the second-largest is ''H. macgregorii'', reaching 24 m in China. The others rarely exceed 10 m tall.

H. corymbosa, Nichols.=Pterostyrax corymbosa.—H. hispida, Mast.=Pterostyrax hispida.—H. parviflora, Micbx. Shrub, resembling H. Carolina: lvs., pedicels, and calyx densely pubescent: corolla 1/3 – ½ . long: fr. 2-winged. Ga. to Fla.{{SCH}}

==Gallery==
{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery  -->

<gallery>
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:Upload.png| photo 3
</gallery>

==References==
*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->

==External links==
*{{wplink}}

{{stub}}
__NOTOC__