Styrax
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 Styrax platanifolius
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Styrax is a genus of about 100 species of large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, mostly native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority in eastern and southeastern Asia, but also crossing the equator in South America.
They grow to 2-14 m tall, and have alternate, deciduous or evergreen simple ovate leaves 1-18 cm long and 2-10 cm broad. The flowers are pendulous, with a white 5-10-lobed corolla, produced 3-30 together on open or dense panicles 5-25 cm long. The fruit is an oblong dry drupe, smooth with no ribs or narrow wings (present in the related genera Halesia and Pterostyrax). Common names include Styrax, Storax, Snowbell and Benzoin.
- Selected species
- Styrax agrestis - China
- Styrax americanum - southeastern United States
- Styrax argentifolius - China
- Styrax bashanensis - China
- Styrax benzoides - Thailand, southern China
- Styrax benzoin - Sumatra
- Styrax calvescens - China
- Styrax chinensis - China
- Styrax chrysocarpus - China
- Styrax confusus - China
- Styrax dasyanthus - central China
- Styrax faberi - China
- Styrax formosanus - China
- Styrax grandiflorus - China
- Styrax grandifolium - southeastern United States
- Styrax hainanensis - southern China
- Styrax hemsleyanum - China
- Styrax hookeri - Himalaya
- Styrax huanus - China
- Styrax japonicus - Japan
- Styrax limpritchii - southwest China (Yunnan)
- Styrax loxensis - Ecuador
- Styrax macranthus - China
- Styrax macrocarpus - China
- Styrax obassia - Japan, China
- Styrax odoratissimus - China
- Styrax officinale - southeast Europe, southwest Asia
- Styrax perkinsiae - China
- Styrax philadelphoides - China
- Styrax platanifolius - Texas, northeast Mexico
- Styrax portoricensis - Caribbean
- Styrax rediviva - California (syn. S. officinalis var. californica)
- Styrax roseus - China
- Styrax rugosus - China
- Styrax schweliense - western China
- Styrax serrulatus - Himalaya, southwest China
- Styrax shiraianum - Japan
- Styrax suberifolius - China
- Styrax supaii - China
- Styrax tonkinensis - southeast Asia
- Styrax veitchiorum - China
- Styrax wilsonii - western China
- Styrax wuyuanensis - China
- Styrax zhejiangensis - China
[edit] Cultivation and uses
Several species are popular ornamental trees in parks and gardens. Benzoin resin is produced from various species (mainly S. benzoides and S. benzoin) native to Sumatra, Java, and Thailand. It is a dried exudation from the pierced bark, and is used in perfumes, some kinds of incense and medicine. The resin includes small amounts of styrene, this hydrocarbon being named after the genus.
