Halesia diptera Bob McCartney the same species behind every

the same species behind every cup of green

Across parts of that native range the shrub is more than a curiosity

and the leaves and twigs were brewed as a tea for coughs

Every bloom lasts only a day or two

For all the misnamings

Halesia diptera Bob McCartney the same species behind everyIn spring, the bare gray branches of the two wing silverbell fill with small white bells, three to six to a cluster, hanging along the year old wood like a run of tiny lanterns. Each flower is a half inch, four lobed cup, and en masse they turn a modest understory tree into one of the quiet highlights of the southern woodland spring. This silverbell grows as a large multi stemmed shrub or a small tree, rarely more than thirty feet, with an open,