Enkianthus campanulatus
| Enkianthus campanulatus | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Enkianthus |
| Species: | E. campanulatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Enkianthus campanulatus (Miq.) G.Nicholson | |
The hardiest of Enkianthus species is E. campanulatus (furin-tsutsuji or redvein enkianthus), a medium-sized, narrow, upright, deciduous shrub. Its bright green glossy foliage gives brilliant coppery to red fall colors. In spring it offers a profusion of bell-shaped (campanula, "little bell"), creamy white flowers with red veins, similar to those of the distantly related Pieris.
The plant was brought to England by Charles Maries, who was plant-hunting in Japan at the time for Veitch Nurseries. The shrub can exceed expectations of height under the right circumstances, as at William Robinson's Gravetye Manor, where a pair planted about the turn of the 20th century reached 15 ft (5 m).