Styracaceae

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Styracaceae
Halesia carolina0.jpg
Halesia carolina
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Styracaceae
Dumortier
Genera

See text

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. [1] [2]

Contents

The family is characterised by spirally arranged simple leaves with no stipules; symmetrical white flowers with a corolla of two to five (sometimes seven) fused petals; and the fruit usually is a dry capsule, sometimes winged, less often a fleshy drupe, with one or two seeds.

Most are large shrubs to small trees 3–15 m tall, but Halesia monticola (H. carolina var. monticola) is larger, with trees 39 m tall known in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

Genera

Several genera include species popular as ornamental trees valued for their decorative white flowers. Benzoin resin, used in herbal medicine and perfumes, is extracted from the bark of Styrax species.

Styracaceae

Sinojackia

Pterostyrax

Changiostyrax

Perkinsiodendron

Rehderodendron

Melliodendron

Halesia

Parastyrax

Alniphyllum

Bruinsmia

Huodendron

Styrax

List of Genera

The genus Pamphilia, sometimes regarded as distinct, is now included within Styrax on genetic data. [1] [3] Phylogenetic studies suggest Halesia is not monophyletic and one species has now been transferred to the new genus Perkinsiodendron. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosaceae</span> Rose family of flowering plants

Rosaceae, the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.

<i>Styrax</i> Genus of plants

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.

<i>Pterostyrax</i> Family of shrubs and trees

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.

<i>Halesia</i> Genus of trees

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.

<i>Halesia tetraptera</i> Species of tree

Halesia tetraptera, commonly known as the common silverbell or mountain silverbell, is a species in the family Styracaceae, native to the southeastern United States. It is cultivated as an ornamental tree.

Halesia macgregorii is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is endemic to southeastern China, where it grows at moderate altitudes of 700–1,200 m. It is threatened by habitat loss. Recent genetic evidence suggests it is probably more closely related to the genus Rehderodendron than to other species of Halesia; it may be transferred to that genus in the future.

Styrax vilcabambae is a species of flowering plant found in the genus Styrax and the family Styracaceae. It is endemic to Peru.

<i>Rehderodendron macrocarpum</i> Species of flowering plant

Rehderodendron macrocarpum is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae, native to southwestern China and northern Vietnam, where it grows at altitudes of 1,000–1,500 m. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Rehderodendron</i> Genus of flowering plants

Rehderodendron is a genus of five species of flowering plants in the family Styracaceae, native to southeastern Asia, from southwestern China south to Myanmar and Vietnam.

<i>Sinojackia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Sinojackia is a genus of five to eight species of flowering plants in the family Styracaceae, all endemic to China.

<i>Sinojackia xylocarpa</i> Species of flowering plant

Sinojackia xylocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is endemic to eastern China in Jiangsu province, where it occurs at altitudes of 500–800 m. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Changiostyrax is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. Its only member species is Changiostyrax dolichocarpus, formerly known as Sinojackia dolichocarpa.

<i>Styrax obassia</i> Species of flowering plant

Styrax obassia is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. It is native to eastern China, Korea, and Japan (Hokkaido).

<i>Halesia carolina</i> Species of flowering plant

Halesia carolina, commonly called Carolina silverbells or little silverbells, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae, native to the southeastern United States.

<i>Halesia monticola</i> Species of tree

Halesiamonticola, the mountain silverbell, is a species of flowering plant in the small family Styracaceae. This large deciduous shrub was originally included in H. carolina, but was identified first as a subspecies by Rehder in 1914 and then as a species by Sargent in 1921. More recently, some authoritative sources regard it only as a subspecies or variety, while other authoritative sources regard it as a species, as it is treated here.

<i>Pterostyrax hispidus</i> Species of flowering plant

Pterostyrax hispidus, the epaulette tree or fragrant epaulette tree, is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae, native to China and Japan. Growing to 15 m (49 ft) tall by 12 m (39 ft) broad, it is a substantial, spreading, deciduous shrub with oval leaves up to 20 cm (8 in) long, and clusters of pure white, fragrant, pendent flowers in summer.

<i>Styrax grandifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Styrax redivivus</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Styrax japonicus</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

Perkinsiodendron is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Styracaceae.

References

  1. 1 2 Fritsch, P.W.; Morton, C.M.; Chen, T.; Meldrum, C. (2001). "Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Styracaceae" (PDF). Int. J. Plant Sci. 162 (6 Suppl): S95–S116. doi:10.1086/323418. S2CID   83906894.
  2. L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants. Styracaceae
  3. Wallnöfer, B. (1997). "A revision of Styrax L. section Pamphilia (Mart. ex A. DC.) B. Walln. (Styracaceae)". Ann. Nathist. Mus. Wien. 99B: 681–720. JSTOR   41767084.
  4. Fritsch, Peter; Yao, Xiaohong; Simison, W.; Cruz, B.C.; Chen, Tao (2016-07-18). "Perkinsiodendron, a new genus in the styracaceae based on morphology and DNA sequences". 10: 109–117.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)