About Halesia carolina L.
Halesia carolina L. (also called little silverbell, previously referred to as Halesia parviflora in cited reference materials) is a vigorous, fast-growing deciduous shrub or tree. It reaches 8 m (26 ft) tall and 10 m (33 ft) broad. In spring, before leaves emerge, it produces large numbers of hanging, bell-shaped white flowers. Green, four-winged fruit develops after flowering, and its leaves turn yellow in autumn. The natural range of this species is very restricted: it grows mainly in the Florida panhandle, with small, isolated outlier populations found in South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. A 2015 champion tree of this species, listed on the American Forests' National Register of Champion Trees, grows in Roxbury, New Hampshire, far outside the species' natural range. In cultivation in the United Kingdom, H. carolina Vestita Group has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. This plant needs acid or neutral soil, and grows best in a partially shaded location. Its fruits can be collected in late fall and early winter.
