Styrax

Also known as Storax, Benzoin

Styrax (common names storax or snowbell) 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 (not to be confused with the Liquidambar storax balsam), often used as a vanilla-like component in perfumery.

Species

FamilyStyracaceae

General: species in New Guinea: Styrax agrestis (Lour.) G.Don.

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Museum specimens

Specimen records: 3,486
With media: 1,643
Family: Styracaceae
Collections: FC-UNAM, INECOL, UCMP, UACH, FCF-UANL, DERN-IMECBIO-CUCSUR-UDG
Recorded in: Mexico, United States, Brazil, China, Vietnam, Nicaragua

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Research

329 papers

Styrax spp.: Habitat, Phenology, Phytochemicals, Biological Activity and Applications.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
Chemical Constituents and Their Biological Activities from Genus Styrax.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
[Study on changes of Styrax varieties].Zhongguo Zhong yao za zhi = Zhongguo zhongyao zazhi = China journal of Chinese materia medica · 2024
Herb-drug interaction between Styrax and warfarin: Molecular basis and mechanism.Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology · 2020
The Chinese herb Styrax triggers pharmacokinetic herb-drug interactions via inhibiting intestinal CYP3A.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2022

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Encyclopedic overview

11 sections

Contents

Uses
Uses of resin
History of sources
Use as incense
Medical uses
Horticultural uses
Uses of wood
Ecology and conservation
Selected species
Footnotes
References

The genus Pamphilia, sometimes regarded as distinct, is now included within Styrax based on analysis of morphological and DNA sequence data. The spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a different plant, in the family Lauraceae.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Styrax” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.