Halesia carolina
Common name: 
Carolina Silverbell
Mountain Silverbell
Pronunciation: 
ha-LE-zhi-a kar-o-LI-na
Family: 
Styracacaceae
Genus: 
Halesia
Synonyms: 
Halesia tetraptera
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Broadleaf deciduous tree, 30-40 ft (9-12 m) tall, 20-35 ft (6-11 m) wide, sometimes larger, excurrent, conical habit.  Leaves alternate, simple, ovate to elliptic to ovate-oblong, 5-10 cm long and half as wide, finely serrate, dark green soon glabrous, pubescent below.  Flowers white ('Rosea' has pink), pendulous, bell-shaped, 5 cm long, including a 2.5 cm stalk, 2-5 per cluster.  Fruit is an oblong, 4-winged dry drupe.
  • Sun to part shade, roots near surface.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 4     Native to the Appalachians Mountains of North Carolina to Tennessee and Georgia, an understory tree.
  • At one time in the recent past, Halesia monticola and Halesia carolina were both considered to be Halesia tetraptera.  Now they are both placed in Halesia carolina.    However, trees known as Mountain Silverbell are larger in habit, leaf, flower and fruit than typical H. carolina (Dirr, 1997, 2009).
  • Oregon State Univ. campus: south side Valley Gymnastic Center (Carolina Silverbell); southwest side of Milam Hall (Mountain Silverbell).
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    plant habit, spring flowering

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    flowering branches

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    flowers and fruit

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    flowers

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    flowers, comparison

  • plant habit, summer

    plant habit, summer

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    leafy shoot

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    leaves

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    leaves

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    fruit and leaves

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    developing fruit

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    mature fruit

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    leaves and fruit

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    plant habit, fall

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    leaves and fruit, fall

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    winter twigs and buds

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    trunk, bark