Description
Botanical Name: Halesia diptera
Common Name: Two-wing Silverbell, Two-winged Silverbell, Silverbell, American Snowdrop Tree, Snowdrop Tree, Snowbell, Cowlicks
Description: This is a stunningly beautiful Florida native tree that I think we all need in our gardens.
Two-winged silverbell is a small deciduous tree or large shrub that is native to floodplains, stream banks, wet woods, and swampy areas. Showy clusters (3 to 6 flowers per cluster) of bell-shaped white flowers (less than 1″ wide) with deeply lobed petals appear in spring (April-May). Flowers are followed by flattened two-winged fruits (dry drupes to 2” long) that ripen in fall. Oval to obovate, irregularly toothed, dark green leaves (4-8” long). Leaves turn yellow in fall. Bark exfoliates in thin scales. It is a large shrub or small tree reaching 4–8 m tall. The leaves are deciduous, 6–12 cm long and 4–7 cm broad. The flowers are white, 2-2.5 cm long, produced in clusters of 3–6 together. The fruit is a dry (non-fleshy) drupe with two wings down the sides; this distinguishes it from the other species of Halesia, which have four wings on the fruit.
Wildlife, including squirrels, eat the unripe sour green fruit. Hummingbirds and cardinals are known to be interested in the nectar. It is a larval host plant for several moth species. Its primary pollinators are bees.
It’s an understory tree, so it likes a part sun to part shade environment. Is a medium-fast grower to 20-30′ tall and wide with a rounded habit. Likes to grow in moist, sandy soils. Can handle short term freshwater flooding. Does adapt to a regular garden environment, but is not drought tolerant for extended periods of time. This would be great in your rain garden or moon garden.
Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray.
This plant in 3-gallon containers is 2-3′ tall.
This plant in 7-gallon containers is 3-5′ tall.
Plant Lore: Genus name honors the Reverend Stephen Hales (1677-1761), English physiologist, chemist, and inventor. Specific epithet from the Greek words di meaning two and ptera meaning wings are in reference to the two-winged fruit of this plant.
Florida Hardiness Zones 8 – 9a
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