Oconee Bells
Shortia galacifolia
The famous “lost plant” of American botany — collected once in 1788, then not seen again for nearly a century. A Southern Appalachian gorge endemic forming glossy evergreen mats topped in early spring by nodding, fringed white bells that flush pink with age. It demands cool, acid, humus-rich shade and steady moisture; buy nursery-propagated stock only.
- Family
- Diapensiaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 0.5–0.75 ft
- Spacing
- 0.5–0.75 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- March, April
- Bloom colors
- white
- Wildlife value
- pollinators
- Landscape uses
- groundcover, naturalizing
- Native states
- GA, NC, SC