Stewartia rostrata Spongberg

Shrubs or trees, to 10 m tall, deciduous. Bark slate gray. Branches ascending, usually several from base; outer bark on current year branchlets not exfoliating; winter buds compressed, ca. 5 mm, with 2 or 3 finely pubescent imbricate scales. Petiole (2-)4-6(-9) mm, adaxially shallowly grooved; leaf blade ovate to elliptic, (2-)6-10.5 × (1.2-)2.5-4.5 cm, papery, abaxially sparsely appressed villous especially along midvein and tufts of short trichomes in axils of midvein and secondary veins, adaxially glabrous, midvein abaxially elevated, base rounded, margin serrate, apex acuminate. Flowers axillary. Pedicel 5-7 mm; bracteoles persistent, subopposite, subtending calyx, ovate, (1.2-)1.5-2 × (0.6-)0.8-1.2 cm, leaflike, margin irregularly undulating, apex acuminate. Sepals 5, persistent, similar to bracteoles, ovate, obovate, or orbicular, 1.2-1.8 × 0.7-1 cm, basally connate, margin irregularly undulating, apex acute to rounded. Petals 5, white, obovate to suborbicular, 2.8-3.8 × 2-3 cm, outside finely sericeous, basally connate, margin erose. Stamens numerous; filaments to 2.5 cm, basally connate into a 6-8 mm tube and adnate to petals, distinct parts pubescent. Ovary subglobose, 5-angled, basally densely sericeous, apically glabrous; style 1.6-1.8 cm, glabrous, terminating in 5 marginally ciliate stigmatic arms. Capsule subglobose, 1.2-1.6 × 1.4-1.6 cm, 5-loculed with 4 seeds per locule, apex rostrate. Seeds obovate in outline, planoconvex, 8-10 × 6-7 mm, narrowly winged. Fl. May-Jul, fr. Sep.

Anhui, Henan, Hubei, E Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang.

● Forests, along streams; 600-1500 m.

Stewartia glabra S. Z. Yan; S. sinensis Rehder & E. H. Wilson var. rostrata (Spongberg) Hung T. Chang.

Stewartia rostrata, the beaked stewartia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae, native to southeastern China. The Royal Horticultural Society considers it to be a good tree for smaller gardens.