William Bartrum found some trees growing along the Alatamaha River in southeast Georgia in 1770 and brought some back to his estate in Philadelphia, PA. No other wild plants of this species has been seen wild since 1790. This small tree can still be bought from the old Bartrum estate as young trees in containers. It is sold by some larger, diverse nurseries as a high quality and expensive plant. It is not commonly planted anywhere. I've found some planted at estates, arboretums, and professional landscapes in southeast Pennsylvania. One source says it only grows about 8 inches/year, but I have seen a young planted specimen grow about 1.5 feet/year at least for its youth and another source does say it grows at a medium rate and it should live over 100 years. It has beautiful foliage that turns a good orange to red in fall. It bears large, solitary, white flowers with 5 petals and that have a sweet, spicy fragrance, and lots of yellow stamen in the middle. It is a member of the Tea Family. It has smooth gray bark that eventually becomes slightly scaly, and the trunks are sort of fluted like a Musclewood tree (American Hornbeam). It has an interesting branching habit sort of like a Pagoda Dogwood. It has a deep, sparsely fibrous root system so it is somewhat difficult to transplant, best in spring. It needs a moist, acid, good quality sandy loam to silt-clay soil. It makes a wonderful specimen plant.

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I have one of these growing in my yard just north of Atlanta, GA. I planted it in fall 2009, and I had my first bloom in late summer 2011. It's planted in full sun, clay soil (amended at planting time) and seems to be doing well, even though my nursery recommends dappled sun for our southern climes.

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