Our tree of the week is the silverbell (Halesia diptera). Silverbells were among the first plants included in the arboretum catalogue. Since 1985, there have been 12 individual plantings, 11 of which were donated by local resident Jack Price. Today, only three survive.
In February of 1985, Jack Price donated five trees. Our three remaining silverbells are from this bunch, which makes them more than 35 years old. They were planted together, in a row, toward the bottom of a slope, near the arboretum drainage channel.
It just so happens that all three trees have terrible posture. Two of the trees lean heavily toward the south. In 2021, this location receives a fare amount of sun. However, the landscape has changed significantly since 1985, with the loss of old on-site native oaks that covered this area in shade.
All three trees have slender trunks with fissured, rough bark.
If you can train them properly, silverbells make excellent shade trees. They are small trees with big green leaves.
The dark green leaves have an ovate shape and a pointed tip. The upper surface is smooth to the touch.
Underneath, leaves are pale green and smooth. The leaf pictured measures approximately 6 inches in length, with the petiole included.
Edges are subtly serrated.
In the month of July, our three silverbells show an abundance of immature fruits, and what interesting fruits they are!
Fruits appear singly or in clumps. They are bulbous with wavy ridges. The species name diptera is a reference to the unusual fruit shape: the four wavy ridges divide into two sets of wings, making the fruit "two-winged".
A nice little branch was snipped for measurements.
Immature fruits are more than an inch in length.
Fruits are less than an inch wide. In the fall, these fruits will dry out and turn brown. This past winter, a handful of persistent fruits were collected and planted, but we didn't have any luck with germination. With such an abundance of fruit this year, we will necessarily try our luck again.
You can see flowers from these trees on an older blog post, found here.
For more information about this species, please consult the following online sources:
There are three silverbells in the collection. They were donated by Jack Price in 1985, making them at minimum 35 years old. Despite their age, these trees remain short in stature. This week they are covered in numerous pretty white flowers.
Our tree of the week is sometimes a small tree, but more often a shrub: the little-leaf snowbell (Styrax americana) tends to produce several stems, rather than a trunk. This week the elegant branches are covered in new leaves and delicate white flowers. Since this snowbell stays low to the ground, we are able to appreciate
its beauty with ease, getting up-close and personal with this shrub and
its pollinators.
The floodplain of the arboretum, towards the fitness center, is the primary location for the little-leaf snowbells. Ed Leuck made the first plantings in 1996, collected from Marion County, Texas. He planted six pots under a massive, and very old, sweet gum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua). The sweet gum was removed in 2006, and luckily the snowbells survived the removal. Today they are growing with chain fern (Lorinseria areolata) lizard-tail (Saururus cernuus).
Flower detail of Styrax americana
Branch covered in flowers and new leaves
Left: new leaf from Styrax grandifolia; Right: new leaf from Styrax americana
Big-leaf snowbells (Styrax grandifolia) are blooming this week in the arboretum. Clusters of small, delicate, fragrant white flowers adorn the slender limbs of this dainty tree. The new leaves add to the elegant display of flowers.
The big-leaf snowbells have been in the collection since the early days of the arboretum. Jack Price donated the collection's three original plants. In September 1988, Ed Leuck planted those individuals in one group towards the bottom of a hill that slopes down to the drainage for the arboretum. Additional seedlings were added to the same group in 2003. These small trees grow happily with spiderwort (Tradescantia sp.), Louisiana catchfly (Silene subciliata), and a volunteer witch-hazel (Hamamelis sp.).
Brief video capturing pollinators at work and highlighting the daintiness of this small tree, nearing 30 years of age.
Flowers occur in racemes.
The 'big-leaf' differentiates Styrax grandifolia from Styrax americana.
Bark detail: smooth
You can see additional photos of the arboretum's big-leaf snowbells here.
