The inevitable Styrax entry

It's been a while, but I ironically have a bit of an opening in my schedule right now as I've wrapped up everything for the school year save for one final. It's almost a week away though, so I'm not quite down to crunch time yet.

The topic of this entry is Styrax, or the Snowbells. It was inevitable that I'd write about this group of plants at some point, as they form the basis for my master's thesis at the University of Delaware. They're also one of the few non-magnolia related taxa I've been obsessively photographing as of late which is really what's leading to them being featured right now.

Styrax is known but not overwhelmingly popular horticulturally, really restricted to only two species: Styrax japonicus, the Japanese Snowbell, and Styrax obassia, the Fragrant Snowbell. Even horticulture enthusiasts are surprised to learn that the diversity of the group is much broader, containing an estimated 130 trees and shrubs found growing mainly in East Asia and the Americas.

Styrax japonicus 'Emerald Pagoda'

Generally speaking, the genus consists of trees and shrubs which flower very prolifically in the late spring. The flowers are white and though small in size, I feel make up for it in abundance. Note how unlike the Magnolias I've been featuring heavily on this blog, the flowers on the stems of Styrax are borne all the way down the stem instead of just existing as a single flower at the end of the stem. That's due to these plants having inflorescences which are axillary as opposed to terminal.

Styrax japonicus 'Pink Chimes'
The pink flower color is nice, but does tend to fade to
white quite readily as soon as the late spring or
early summer heat approaches.

The Japanese Snowbell is by far the most common species of Styrax in the trade. There are several selections of the species, including the weeping form 'Carilon', the (somewhat) pink-flowered 'Pink Chimes', though I personally prefer 'Emerald Pagoda', pictured above, which looks like the species but on steroids. The flowers are larger, the leaves are larger and somewhat of a darker green in color, and the selection overall seems to resemble a superior form of the species.

As the common name suggests, the species is native to Japan, but is also found throughout a rather large area of China and Korea. In addition to being the most popular species horticuturally, it is also probably the most common of the group in the wild.

Styrax obassia, the "Fragrant" Snowbell

The only other species with much horticultural significance currently is the Fragrant Snowbell, Styrax obassia. Unlike the above species, it's only found in China, albeit has a more northern range so there is some thought it might be a little more suited to the cold than the Japanese Snowbell. Where the name "Fragrant Snowbell" comes from, I have no idea, as I would describe the flowers as having if anything, a subtle disagreeable fragrance.

The picture to the left doesn't make the plant seem like much, which is partially due to the large leaves of the species. One of the most common complaints about the plant even dating back to the time of its first introduction is that the flowers are often obstructed by the large leaves of the species, unless they are viewed from underneath.

Styrax obassia from a lower, closer vantage point

A similar species, which is virtually unknown in horticulture as far as I can tell, is Styrax hemsleyanus. Were there a common name, it would probably be something like "Hemsley's Snowbell", which raises the question as to who Hemsely is. The species is named for William Botting Hemsely, a british botanist living from 1843-1924. The smooth, glabrous, leaves of the species are a rather good identification characteristic.

Styrax hemsleyanus

Styrax grandifolius (Bigleaf Snowbell)

Of the species native to North America, there are two found growing in the Southeast and S Central United states, whereas the remaining species are typically more Southwestern in their distribution. The two southeastern species are Styrax americanus, the American Snowbell, and Styrax grandifolius, the Bigleaf Snowbell. Unlike the previous plants discussed, these are both shrubs rather than trees. The two species are very closely to each other, though the Bigleaf Snowbell can usually be differentiated, not surprisingly, by the size of it's leaves. It also tends to be a bigger plant overall, sometimes approaching the height of a small tree.

Styrax americanus (American Snowbell)

The American Snowbell is starting to become a favorite of mine, though the flowers are albeit quite small, I think they look quite interesting due to the reflexed nature of the petals (mostly evident on the central flower in the above photo as the plant was still just beginning to flower). This is in contrast to most of the other species in which the petals hang down in a more pendulous manner.

So there you have it, now you know five species of Styrax, which is probably three more than most people, but still less than 5% of the group. Though these plants are starting to grow on me, I don't think there's all that much special about them when out of flower. Still though, it's a nice and quite diverse group of spring flowering trees it would be nice to see more of.