Description:lovely, small flowering tree(9m tall) with short trunk and crown of spreading/horizontal branches. Leaves, opposite, are 6-13cm long, elliptical; edges slightly wavy, has tiny teeth visible under a lens.
Bark:Dark reddish-brown;rough, broken into small square plates.
Flowers:5mm wide, with 4 yellowish-green petals, bordered by 4 large broadly elliptical white/pink petal-like bracts.
Habitat:both moist and dry soils of valleys and uplands in understory of hardwood forests; also in old fields.
Range:S. Ontario east to SW. Maine, south to N. Florida, west to central Texas, and north to central Michigan.
References:Audubon Society Field Guide To North American Trees