Styrax redivivus
Styracaceae
bitternut, California snowdrop bush, California styrax, chaparral snowbell, drug snowbell, snowdrop bush
snowbell family, storax family
petiole 3–14 mm;
blade with (6–)7–8(–9) secondary veins, broadly elliptic, ovate, obovate, or orbiculate, 3–7.5(–11.7) × 2.5–6.5(–8.8) cm, margins entire, longest arms of abaxial hairs 0.1–0.4 mm.
alternate, simple;
stipules absent;
petiole present;
blade margins serrate or entire, rarely also lobed.
false-terminal and/or axillary racemes or panicles, sometimes solitary flowers.
4–9 mm, 0.5–1.4 times as long as calyx.
calyx 4–7 × 5–7 mm;
corolla 16–26 mm, tube 5–6 mm, lobes 5–7(–8), imbricate in bud, slightly reflexed, elliptic, 10–21 × 4–7 mm;
filaments connate 2–7 mm beyond adnation to corolla.
bisexual [plants gynodioecious];
perianth and androecium perigynous to epigynous;
hypanthium adnate to ovary wall at various levels;
sepals (2–)4–5(–9) [absent], distinct or connate, sometimes forming tube with or without minute apical teeth;
petals 4–5(–8), connate proximally;
stamens usually 2(–4) times [equaling] number of corolla lobes, adnate to corolla at base only or to 1/2 length of corolla, uniseriate in appearance;
anthers dehiscent by longitudinal slits;
pistils 1, 2–4[–5]-carpellate;
ovary partly or completely inferior, proximally 2–4[–5]-septate, 1-locular by distal attenuation of septa;
placentation axile [near basal];
ovules anatropous, uni- or bitegmic, tenuinucellate;
styles 1, simple [3-parted];
stigmas 1, terminal, truncate or minutely 2–4[–5]-lobed.
capsular, dehiscence loculicidal, or nutlike (dry and indehiscent), sometimes winged, [drupaceous].
globose, 11–15 × 10–12 mm (broader when 2–3-seeded), tawny or fulvous stellate-pubescent, at least when mature, dehiscent nearly or completely to proximal end, broadly exposing seed(s);
fruit wall 0.3–0.5 mm thick.
1–4[–ca. 50], brown, ellipsoid to globose or fusiform [flat, winged];
embryo straight or slightly curved;
endosperm copious, cellular, oily.
-terminal inflorescences 2–6-flowered or solitary flower, 2–5 cm;
axillary flowers absent.
= 16.
Styrax redivivus
Styracaceae
Of conservation concern.
Styrax redivivus has often been treated as an infraspecific taxon in S. officinalis Linnaeus of the eastern Mediterranean region. Morphological and molecular data (P. W. Fritsch 1996, 1999, 2001) provide evidence that strongly supports its species status. These data also establish the Texas species S. platanifolius as the closest relative of S. redivivus, and the two species together form a clade that is sister to S. officinalis.
Characters used to justify recognition of var. fulvescens of southern California have been shown to be clinal from north to south across the range of Styrax redivivus (P. W. Fritsch 1996b) and are here considered taxonomically inconsequential.
Another binomial sometimes used for Styrax redivivus is S. californicus, but this name does not have priority, having been published two years later than the basionym Darlingtonia rediviva (that generic name was applied later by Torrey to the genus of pitcher plants and is now conserved). Styrax californicus is a superfluous name, based on the same type as Darlingtonia rediviva.
Although Styrax redivivus extends from Shasta County to San Diego County, its occurrence is sporadic and infrequent. The ecological factors involved in the maintenance of this species, such as seed ecology, fire tolerance, and habitat requirements, are poorly known (P. W. Fritsch 1996b).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Genera 11, species ca. 160 (2 genera, 7 species in the flora).
Species of Halesia and Styrax are sometimes cultivated for ornament, and species of Alniphyllum, Melliodendron, Pterostyrax, Rehderodendron, and Sinojackia have been successfully grown in the United States.
About 80% of the species of Styracaceae belong to Styrax; the next largest genera in the family are Rehderodendron and Sinojackia, with five and six species, respectively. All genera are endemic to eastern and/or southeastern Asia with the exception of the two in the flora.
The Styracaceae have been shown to be monophyletic on the basis of morphological and DNA sequence evidence (P. W. Fritsch et al. 2001). Studies with DNA sequence data place Styracaceae within order Ericales (in the sense of Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 2003; C. M. Morton et al. 1996; A. A. Anderberg et al. 2002) as sister to Diapensiaceae, and Styracaceae + Diapensiaceae are sister to Symplocaceae (J. Schönenberger et al. 2005). The South American genus Pamphilia is now included within Styrax (B. Wallnöfer 1997; Fritsch 1999, 2001).
The fossil record of the Styracaceae extends back to the early Eocene (B. H. Tiffney 1985).
In the present treatment, calyx dimensions include the hypanthium, whereas those of the corolla and stamens do not. Leaf dimensions are those of the larger examples on each specimen except where noted.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Winter buds without scales; pith continuous; inflorescences borne on shoots of current growing season; fertile shoots of current growing season with fully developed leaves; articulation between pedicels and flowers absent; corolla lobes 5-6(-8); ovaries partly inferior; fruits not winged. | Styrax |
1. Winter buds with scales; pith chambered; inflorescences borne on shoots of previous growing season; fertile shoots of current growing season without fully developed leaves (rarely fully developed); articulation between pedicels and flowers present; corolla lobes 4; ovaries completely inferior; fruits winged. | Halesia |
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