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Styrax

Family

Styracaceae

A genus of about 130 species of trees and shrubs in America, E. Asia (including the Himalaya), and Malaysia, only a few occurring in cool-temperate regions and only one (S. officinalis) a native of Europe. The cultivated species are deciduous. Leaves alternate, without stipules, they and the branchlets, pedicels, etc., often clad with an indumentum of stellate hairs. Flowers in racemes, which are sometimes branched, or in clusters, or solitary. Calyx shortly lobed or entire. Corolla deeply divided into five or sometimes up to eight segments. Stamens twice the number of the corolla-lobes. Ovary superior (inferior in Halesia and the other cultivated Styracaceae). Fruit a dry or fleshy drupe, dehiscing irregularly and containing one or two large seeds.

The generic name comes from the classical Greek name for S. officinalis; this is feminine when applied to the tree, neuter only when used for the resin extracted from it. But, as will be seen from the synonyms of the species treated below, the genus has often been treated as of neuter gender, and is masculine in Miss Perkins’ monograph on the genus, in Engler, Planzenreich Heft 30 (1907).

All the species of Styrax need a sheltered spot and should be given careful attention when young. When first planted out they should be given a light soil to which some fine peat and, if available, some decayed leaves have been added. Once established, they will root into the surrounding soil. Propagation is by cuttings of half-ripened wood taken about July, and rooted in bottom-heat. Many of the cultivated species produce good seed – often too much for their health. This should germinate in the following spring if sown as soon as ripe or stratified; otherwise it may need a year or even two to germinate.


From the Supplement (Vol. V)

The species cultivated in the University of Washington Arboretum, Seattle, are surveyed by Dr Brian Mulligan in the Arboretum Bulletin, Vol. 44, pp. 9-15 (1981).

Species articles