Stewartia

:Stewartia" as described by Philibert Commerçon is a synonym of "Dombeya.Taxobox
name = "Stewartia"


image_width = 240px
image_caption = "Stewartia pseudocamellia"
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Ericales
familia = Theaceae
genus = "Stewartia"
genus_authority = L.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Stewartia calcicola" "Stewartia cordifolia" "Stewartia crassifolia" "Stewartia densivillosa" "Stewartia koreana" "Stewartia laotica" "Stewartia malacodendron" "Stewartia medogensis" "Stewartia micrantha" "Stewartia monadelpha" "Stewartia obovata" "Stewartia ovata" "Stewartia pseudocamellia" "Stewartia pteropetiolata" "Stewartia rostrata" "Stewartia rubiginosa" "Stewartia serrata" "Stewartia sichuanensis" "Stewartia sinensis" "Stewartia sinii" "Stewartia villosa"

"Stewartia" (sometimes spelled "Stuartia"Sprague, T.A. (1928). The correct spelling of certain generic names. III. "Kew Bulletin" 1928: 337-365.] Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. "Vascular Plant Families and Genera": [http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/cgi-bin/web.dbs/genlist.pl?THEACEAE Theaceae] ] Bean, W. J. (1980). "Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles" 4: 507-513. ISBN 0-7195-2428-8.] Rushforth, K. (1999). "Collins Photographic Guide to Trees". ISBN 0-00-220013-9.] ) is a genus of 8-20 species of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, related to "Camellia". Most of the species are native to eastern Asia in China, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, with two ("S. malacodendron, S. ovata") in southeast North America, from Virginia and Kentucky south to Florida and Louisiana.Li, J., Del Tredici, P., Yang, S., & Donoghue, M. J. (2002). Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of Stewartia (Camellioideae, Theaceae) inferred from nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS sequences. "Rhodora" 104: 117-133 ( [http://www.phylodiversity.net/donoghue/publications/MJD_papers/2002/120_Li_Rhodora02.pdf pdf file] ).]

They are shrubs and trees, mostly deciduous, though some species (e.g. "S. pteropetiolata") are evergreen; the evergreen species form a genetically distinct group and are split into a separate genus "Hartia" by some botanists, but others retain them within "Stewartia"."Flora of China" [http://web.archive.org/web/20040814114055/http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/mss/volume12/Theaceae-CAS_edited.htm draft account of Theaceae] ] The Asian species include both shrubs and trees, growing to 3-20 m tall, while the American species are shrubs growing 3-5 m tall, rarely becoming small trees. The bark is very distinctive, smooth orange to yellow-brown, peeling in fine flakes. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, serrated, usually glossy, and 3-14 cm long. The flowers are large and conspicuous, 3-11 cm diameter, with 5 (occasionally 6-8) white petals; flowering is in mid to late summer. The fruit is a dry five-valved capsule, with one to four seeds in each section.

The species are adapted to acidic soils, and do not grow well on chalk or other calcium-rich soils. They also have a high rainfall requirement and will not tolerate drought.

The genus was named in 1753 by Carolus Linnaeus to honour John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute. Owing to a transcription error, Linnaeus was given the name as 'Stewart', and consequently spelled the name "Stewartia" (and continued to do so in all his subsequent publications). Some botanists and horticulturists, mainly in the pastL'Héritier de Brutelle, C. L. (1785). "Stirpes Novae aut Minus Cognitae" (cited by W. J. Bean 1980).] Siebold, P. F. von, & Zuccarini, J. G. (1835). "Flora Japonica" 1: 181, t.96. [http://www.zum.de/stueber/siebold/flora1/high/CRW_6436_RT8.html Facsimile] .] Dippel, L. (1889). "Handbuch der Laubholzkunde". Darmstadt. [http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/dippel/index.html Facsimile] .] but still widely in the UK have interpreted Art. 60.1 of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature to consider "Stewartia" an orthographical error to be corrected to "Stuartia", but this spelling has not found wide acceptance outside of Europe in recent times. During the 19th century, the spelling "Stuartia" was "almost universally" used. However, the original spelling "Stewartia" has been accepted, in large part because it continued to be accepted by Linnaeus himself, by virtually all systematic botanists in recent treatments of the family Chang, H. & Ren, S. (1998). Theaceae/Theoideae. "Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae" 49 (3).] Stevens, P. F., Dressler, S. & Weitzman, A. L. (2004). Theaceae. In K. Kubitzki (ed.), "Families and Genera of Vascular Plants" 6: 463-471.] and genus Spongberg, S. A. (1974). A review of deciduous-leaved "Stewartia" (Theaceae). "Journal of the Arnold Arboretum" 55: 182-214.] Li, J. (1996). Systematic study on the genera "Stewartia" and "Hartia" (Theaceae). "Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica" 34: 48–67.] Prince, L. M. (2002). Circumscription and biogeographic patterns in the Eastern North American-East Asian genus "Stewartia" (Theaceae: Stewartieae): insight from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequence data. "Castanea" 67: 290-301.] as well as in numerous influential horticultural publications.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). "New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening."]

Cultivation and uses

Several species of "Stewartia" are grown as ornamental plants for their very decorative smooth orange bark and their flowers produced at a time of year when few other trees are in flower.

References