Feverbark or Georgia bark, Pinckneyabracteata (Bartram) Raf., was first discovered by
William Bartram during his travels in the southeast, but it appears the specific epithet he used was only accepted recently rather than the synonymous Pinckeya pubens Michx. This seems to be similar to the changing of the status of Pluto as a planet, but in this case the earliest published specific name is used. Note that Bartram was not the definitive author because he originally put Pinckneya in the genus Bignonia, that contains crossvine, B. caprolata L.
I’m interested in planting specimens for a themed landscape with of all the species discovered by William Bartram as well as those first collected by him even if he was not credited with the discovery. Apparently Georgia bark is only marginally hardy in zone 7, because whenI was able to get one of these it either didn’t
get established in time to survive the Easter freeze of 2007, or was not hardy enough for this climate zone.If I
try again I’ll put it close to a building so that freeze protection
will be provided similar to how most people around here plant their figs, Ficus carica L. The name feverbark is due to a bark extract that reduces fever considering how Pinckneya is related to Cinchonaofficinalis L., which is a source of quinine that is used to treat malaria. The flowers normally borne in May or June are pink and resemble poinsettia, Euphorbiapulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch.
