Stewartia malacodendron Linnaeus. Silky Camellia, Virginia Stewartia. Phen: Apr-Jun; Sep-Oct. Hab: Mesic forests, especially on beech-dominated bluffs or ‘upland islands’ in Coastal Plain swamps, steepheads, bayheads. Dist: Primarily Coastal Plain, se. VA south to FL, west to se. TX, but extending inland to the Piedmont of GA, NC, and SC and the Mountains of AL and NC.
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Taxonomy Comments: In the phylogenetic tree of Stewartia, S. malacodendron is the first-branching taxon in the genus, not closely related to S. ovata.
Synonymy: = Ar, Fl5, FNA8, K1, K3, K4, RAB, Tx, Va, W, WH3, Spongberg (1974); = Stewartia malachodendron – C, F, G, orthographic variant; = Stuartia malachodendron – S, orthographic variant
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