One of the highlights of our outdoor collection is the Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia). It is native to Japan and Korea and is perhaps most distinguished by its mottled sycamore-like bark. Unlike the sycamore, the bark is much smoother, with attractive patterns of dull orange, green, and grey. The five-petaled flowers are white and look much like camellias, to which stewartia are closely related. The stewartia is commonly planted as an ornamental tree.

Read more about this beautiful species on the Yale Nature Walk website.