Rhodoleia seed

LATIN NAME: Rhodoleia championii

COMMON NAME: Rhodoleia

Rhodoleia is the neat, glossy-leaved, evergreen tree of the warm southern hills, one of the quiet showpieces of the winter garden. The compact, rounded tree carries the broad, leathery, dark-green leaves, and the curious, rounded heads of the small, pink to red flowers open through the late winter and the early spring, hanging like little pom-poms among the foliage. The tree is a native of the wet, misty woods of the south, and it is a fine, handsome, easy choice for the warm, sheltered garden. It is a tree of the deep, rich, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The rhodoleia holds a quiet place in the plant science, and the tree has been studied for the rounded heads of the small, pink to red flowers and the broad, leathery, dark-green leaves. The way the tree flowers through the late winter and the early spring has been studied steadily, and it keeps showing up in the work on the winter-flowering trees, the evergreen trees and the trees of the warm southern woods. The compact, rounded habit has also made it a fine garden tree, and the rhodoleia is a regular subject of the studies of the witch hazel family and the flowering trees of the warm hills.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The rhodoleia gives good value in the garden and the wider world. The rounded heads of the pink to red flowers open through the late winter and the early spring, one of the good colours of the quiet season, and the broad, leathery, dark-green leaves keep the tree handsome through the year. The tree is a fine, easy choice for the warm, sheltered garden, the park and the woodland edge, and the flowers draw the bees and the birds of the early spring. It has been written up in the horticultural papers for the winter flower heads and the glossy, neat foliage, and it is a fine, long-lived tree of the deep, rich, well-drained garden.

Rhodoleia is a native of the wet, misty woods of the warm southern hills, and the rounded heads of the small, pink to red flowers open through the late winter and the early spring. The broad, leathery, dark-green leaves keep the tree handsome through the year, and the flowers draw the bees and the birds of the early spring.

To grow the rhodoleia from seed, scatter the fine seeds on the surface of moist, free-draining seed trays and press them in lightly, keep them in a bright, sheltered spot and water gently. The seedlings show themselves within a few weeks and grow on steadily. With the light shade, the shelter and the rich, well-drained ground, the glossy tree will flower in its own good time.

Uses: Medicinal. Ornamental