| Styrax officinalis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| S. officinalis in the Menashe hills of Israel | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Styracaceae |
| Genus: | Styrax |
| Species: | S. officinalis |
| Binomial name | |
| Styrax officinalis | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Styrax officinalis is a species of shrub in the family Styracaceae, commonly called the storax tree. [2]
Styrax officinalis is a deciduous shrub reaching a height of 2–5 metres (6 ft 7 in – 16 ft 5 in). [2] It has a simple, relaxed form, with very thin elliptical leaves 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long and 3.5–5.5 cm (1+1⁄2–2 in) wide, alternate and widely spaced on thin, reddish stems, with a tight, dark bark on basal stems. A small very light green, stalked axillary bud is associated with each leaf.
The inflorescence is short and few-flowered. The flowers are axillary, bell-shaped, white and fragrant, about 2 cm (1 in) long. The corolla has 5–7 petals and many yellow anthers, the calyx is 5-lobed. Flowering period extends from spring to summer (May–June). [3]
Styrax officinalis subsp. redidivus, Styrax officinalis subsp. fulvescens (both native to California) and Styrax officinalis subsp. jaliscana (native to Mexico), were included here, but recent molecular analysis has suggested that they may be diverged to the point of being separate species. [4]
This species is native to southern Europe and the Middle East. [2] [4] It prefers dry rocky slopes, woods and thickets at an elevation up to 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level. [2]
This plant is the "official" source of styrax, an herbal medicine known from ancient times. Some believe its oleoresin to have been the stacte used together with frankincense, galbanum, and onycha to make Ketoret, the Tabernacle incense of the Old Testament. [5]
Griselinia is a genus of seven species of shrubs and trees, with a highly disjunct distribution native to New Zealand and South America. It is a classic example of the Antarctic flora. It is the sole genus in the family Griseliniaceae. In the past it was often placed in Cornaceae but differs from that in many features.
Styrax is a genus of about 130 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. The resin obtained from the tree is called benzoin or storax.
Pterostyrax, the epaulette tree, is a small genus of four species of deciduous large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, native to eastern Asia in China and Japan. They grow 4–12 m (13–39 ft) tall, with alternate, simple ovate leaves 6–17 cm (2–7 in) long and 4–10 cm (2–4 in) broad. The flowers are white, produced in dense panicles 8–25 cm (3–10 in) long. The fruit is an oblong dry drupe, with longitudinal ribs or narrow wings.
The Styracaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, containing 12 genera and about 160 species of trees and shrubs. The family occurs in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Halesia, also known as silverbell or snowdrop tree, is a small genus of four or five species of deciduous large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae.
Avicennia marina, commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae. As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas.
Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.
Olea capensis, the black ironwood, is an African tree species in the olive family Oleaceae. It is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa: from the east in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, south to the tip of South Africa, and west to Cameroon, Sierra Leone and the islands of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as Madagascar and the Comoros. It occurs in bush, littoral scrub and evergreen forest.
Acer ginnala, the Amur maple, is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern Asia from easternmost Mongolia east to Korea and Japan, and north to the Russian Far East in the Amur River valley. It is a small maple with deciduous leaves that is sometimes grown as a garden subject or boulevard tree.
Grevillea juniperina, commonly known as juniper- or juniper-leaf grevillea or prickly spider-flower, is a plant of the family Proteaceae native to eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland in Australia. Scottish botanist Robert Brown described the species in 1810, and seven subspecies are recognised. One subspecies, G. j. juniperina, is restricted to Western Sydney and environs and is threatened by loss of habitat and housing development.
Verbena bonariensis, the purpletop vervain, clustertop vervain, Argentinian vervain, tall verbena or pretty verbena, is a member of the verbena family cultivated as a flowering annual or herbaceous perennial plant. In USA horticulture, it is also known by the ambiguous names purpletop and South American vervain. For the misapplication "Brazilian verbena" see below.
Styrax obassia is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is native to eastern China, Korea, and Japan (Hokkaido).
The genus Styrax has an estimated 120 species in eastern Asia, the New World, and the Mediterranean region. Styrax platanifolius is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae known by the common name sycamoreleaf snowbell or "Texas Snowbell". It is native to northeastern Mexico in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas and the US state of Texas, especially on the Edwards Plateau. Styrax flowering season is estimated to be during the months of April-May. Its fruiting season has been observed to be during July-September. Styrax platanifolius thrive in more of a subhumid climate.
Rhamnus alaternus is a species of flowering plant in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae, known by the common names Italian buckthorn or Mediterranean buckthorn. It is a hardy medium-sized evergreen shrub with fragrant flowers.
Coleonema pulchellum, commonly known as confetti bush, buchu, diosma or breath of heaven, is a shrub which is endemic to the Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Styrax grandifolius, the bigleaf snowbell or bigleaf storax, is a plant species native to the southeastern United States, ranging from Virginia south to Florida and west to Texas and Missouri. The plant grows as a deciduous shrub or tree up to 6 metres (20 ft) high, and is most commonly found in upland forests of the southeast's piedmont. As the specific epithet suggests, the species has larger leaves than sympatric Styracaceae, with alternate, obovate leaves up to 14 cm long and 10 cm wide that are densely pubescent underneath. Flowers are borne during early summer in racemes containing up to 20 flowers.
Bruinsmia styracoides is a large tree of tropical Asia in the family Styracaceae. The specific epithet styracoides refers to the tree's resemblance to Styrax officinalis.
Iris dolichosiphon is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from China and Bhutan. It has long, thin dark green leaves, very short stem, and dark blue, purple, or violet flowers. That are mottled with white. It has thick white/orange beards. It has one subspecies, Iris dolichosiphon subsp. orientalis, from China, India and Burma. It has similar flowers. They are cultivated as ornamental plants in temperate regions
Styrax redivivus, with common names that include snowdrop bush, California styrax, bitternut, drug snowbell, and chaparral snowbell, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is a rare plant, native to California, a shrub which can grow to 4 metres (13 ft) in height.
Styrax japonicus, also known as the Japanese snowbell, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae, native to Korea, Japan, and Southern China. Growing to 12 m (39 ft) tall by 8 m (26 ft) broad, it is a graceful, spreading deciduous tree with oval, upward-facing leaves which occasionally turn yellow or orange before falling in autumn. Masses of slightly fragrant, bell-shaped white flowers hang from the branches in summer, followed by fruits (drupes) which resemble olives in both shape and colour.
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