Styrax argenteus C.Presl

Species

Angiosperms > Ericales > Styracaceae > Styrax

Characteristics

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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A tree.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 16.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Humid, seasonal evergreen and deciduous forest; pasture; open scrub; often along waterways; in moist ravines; dry limestone ridges; forest edges; disturbed slopes, and with various types of secondary growth at elevations from 100-1,700 metres.
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It is a tropical plant.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible fruits
Therapeutic use Piscicide (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 12 - 18
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Styrax argenteus leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Styrax argenteus leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Styrax argenteus leaf picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Flower

Styrax argenteus flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Styrax argenteus flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Styrax argenteus flower picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Fruit

Styrax argenteus fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Styrax argenteus fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Styrax argenteus fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Styrax argenteus world distribution map, present in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador

Conservation status

Styrax argenteus threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:327046-2
WFO ID wfo-0000492771
COL ID 7B3TL
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 735200
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Styrax myristicifolius Strigilia argentea Styrax argenteus var. argenteus Styrax argenteus

Lower taxons

Styrax argenteus var. ramirezii