Small tree to 12 m tall, the twigs slightly angled, soon terete, tomentose on emerging, soon only the tightly appressed elements remaining and thus appearing glabrous. Leaves ovate or elliptical, to 12(-18) cm long, 6(-11) cm wide, apically acuminate, basally obtuse or rounded, entire, glabrous above, whitish tomentose beneath with stellate hairs, the indumentum appressed or lax, veins impressed above, elevated and often rufous beneath, lateral veins 6-8 on each side, nearly straight and ascending, ultimately arcuate, the minor venation evident or not; petiole 12-18 mm long, mostly tomentose, drying angled beneath. Inflorescences short lax racemes to 8 cm long, slightly congested, the peduncle grayish or brownish, fine tomentose, angled; bracts ca. 1 mm long, narrow, scalelike, cadu-cous; pedicels 8-10 mm long, evenly fine tomentose, angled. Flowers with the calyx cupular, ca. 4 mm long and wide, subtruncate with 5 minute umbos, thinned apically into a sleeve, finely and evenly stellate tomentose outside, inside minutely appressed pubescent with ascending, reduced hairs; corolla white, often drying pale purplish, ca. 15 mm long, divided to the calyx rim into narrow segments, evenly pubescent outside, valvate in bud; stamens 10, the filaments ca. 7 mm long, basally united into a tube for 3-4 mm, the tube adnate to the corolla base for ca. 2 mm, ventrally glabrous, dorsally fine tomentose, ciliate and densely tufted just above the point of insertion, the anthers linear, exserted from the corolla tube but slightly shorter than the lobes, the connective covering the back, the thecae discrete, stellate pubescent; ovary ovoid, apiculate, evenly fine tomen-tose overall and on the apicule with stellate hairs, the style slender, the stigma FIGURE 1. Styrax argenteus Presl.-A. Flowering branch (X 1/2). [After Gentry & Mori 13797 (MO-] B. Fruiting branch (XI/2) [After Allen 4851 (MO).] minutely 3-lobed. Fruit an ellipsoidal or obovate drupe, ca. 2 cm long, finely tomentose; seed 1.
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