Styracaceae is a small
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
of
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
s in the order
EricalesThe Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons, including for example tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, and azalea. The order includes trees and bushes, lianas and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient...
, containing 11 genera and about 160 species of
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s. The family occurs in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the
Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
.
The family is characterised by spirally arranged simple
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
with no
stipuleIn botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s; symmetrical white
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s with a corolla of 2-5 (-7) fused petals; and the
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
usually a dry
capsuleIn botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within...
, sometimes winged, less often a fleshy
drupeIn botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, with 1-2
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Most are large shrubs to small trees 3-15 m tall, but
Halesia monticola (
H.
Discussion
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Styracaceae is a small
familyIn biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus...
of
flowering plantThe flowering plants or angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of seed plants...
s in the order
EricalesThe Ericales are a large and diverse order of dicotyledons, including for example tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, and azalea. The order includes trees and bushes, lianas and herbaceous plants. Together with ordinary autophytic plants, the Ericales include chlorophyll-deficient...
, containing 11 genera and about 160 species of
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s and
shrubA shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s. The family occurs in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the
Northern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
.
The family is characterised by spirally arranged simple
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
with no
stipuleIn botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
s; symmetrical white
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s with a corolla of 2-5 (-7) fused petals; and the
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
usually a dry
capsuleIn botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within...
, sometimes winged, less often a fleshy
drupeIn botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, with 1-2
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
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 ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs northeast to...
in
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Several genera include species popular as ornamental trees valued for their decorative white flowers.
Benzoin resinBenzoin resin or styrax resin is a balsamic resin obtained from the bark of several species of trees in the genus Styrax. It is used in perfumes, some kinds of incense, and medicine . Its principal component is benzoic acid. Commonly called "benzoin", it is called "benzoin resin" here to...
, used in herbal medicine and
perfumePerfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces a "pleasant" smell.-History:...
s, is extracted from the bark of
StyraxStyrax 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...
species.
Genera
- Alniphyllum
Alniphyllum is a genus of three species of flowering plants in the family Styracaceae, native to eastern Asia, from central China south to India and Vietnam.The species are small to medium-sized deciduous trees growing to 15–30 m tall.Species...
Matsum. (3 species).
- Bruinsmia Boer. & Koord. (2 species).
- Changiostyrax
Changiostyrax, is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae. Its only member species is Changiostyrax dolichocarpa, formerly known as Sinojackia dolichocarpa....
C.T.Chen (1 species).
- Halesia
Halesia , also known as is a small genus of four or five species of deciduous large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, native to eastern Asia and eastern North America...
J.Ellis ex L. (3–5 species).
- Huodendron
Huodendron is a genus of four species of flowering plants in the family Styracaceae, native to eastern Asia, from southern China south to Thailand and Vietnam.The species are small to medium-sized deciduous trees growing to 12–25 m tall.Species...
Rehder (4 species).
- Melliodendron Hand.-Mazz. (1 species).
- Parastyrax W.W.Sm. (2 species).
- Pterostyrax
Pterostyrax 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 to 4-12 m tall, and have alternate, simple ovate leaves 6-17 cm long and 4-10 cm broad. The flowers are white, produced in...
Siebold & Zucc. (4 species).
- Rehderodendron
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.The species are small deciduous trees growing to 10–15 m tall.Species...
Hu (5 species).
- Sinojackia
Sinojackia is a genus of five to eight species of flowering plants in the family Styracaceae, all endemic to China.The species are deciduous shrubs or small trees growing to 4–12 m tall.Species* Sinojackia dolichocarpa C.J.Qi...
Hu (5 species).
- Styrax
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...
L. (c.130 species; syn. Pamphilia).
The genus
Pamphilia, sometimes regarded as distinct, is now included within
Styrax on genetic data.