FNPS Plant Database

Halesia diptera

twowing silverbells
  • Photo by: Rick Cantrell, Magnolia Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

twowing silverbells

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Halesia diptera

Family:

Styracaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

tree

Size:

30 ft tall by 20 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

NA

Phenology:

deciduous

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Fall Color

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Use as a specimen plant or as an understory in a mixed hardwood forest setting. This tree blooms in early spring before the leaves come out.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Layering, stem and root cuttings, seed. Seeds require several years to germinate.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Usually moist, occasional inundation -to- Somewhat long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Hummingbirds, Birds



  • Larval plant for several moth species.


  • Primary pollinators are bees. 


Hummingbirds and cardinals are known to be interested in the nectar.  Squirrels may eat the fruits.  

Native Habitats:

Dry-moist sites. Upland hardwood forests on fertile mesic slopes and ravines, hammocks, floodplain forests, slope forests, seep slopes, floodplains with short-term inundation.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Citations:

Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/). Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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