Melliodendron xylocarpum

A small, graceful, elegant species of deciduous tree or small shrub to around 4m in height, rare in the UK, with oval-shaped, glossy green foliage. Beautiful fleshy, pink, star-shaped flowers flushed with white (pink form) or plain white (white form) are similar to the flowers that appear on Styrax, and appear in late spring to early summer, just before or at the same time as the leaves. The pear-shaped green to brown fruit are ribbed and the bark on mature specimens is greenish-brown with irregular peeling. Although reasonably hardy, some sources state that it can be difficult to grow in the UK, where it can be sensitive to cold, particularly to late spring frosts