PLATE DCXXXI. 



STYRAX OFFICINALE. 



Storaoo Tree. 



CLASS X. ORDER L 



DECANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Ten Stamens. One Style. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Calyx inferus. Corolla imo calyci inserta, sub- 



•campanulata, 3 — 8-partita. Antherae 10— 



15. Germen triloculare, polyspermum. 



Drupa coriacea, subglobosa, 1 — 3-sperma. 



Cup below. Blossom adhering to the base of 

 the cup, nearly bell-shaped, 3- to 8-parted. 

 Stamens 10 to 15. Germen of three cells 

 with many seeds. Berry dry, leathery, nearly 

 round. Seeds 1 to 3. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



Styrax foliis ovatls subtus villosis, racemis sim- 

 • ' plicibus folio brevioiibus. Ait. Kew. 2. 

 p. 75. 



Styrax with the leaves oval, downy beneath, 

 the racemes (bunches of flowers) simple, 

 shorter than the leaf. 



REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. 



1. Empalement, 



2. A blossom spread open. 



3. Seed-bud and pointal. 



The Storax tree is a native of the Levant, of Italy, and of the southern parts of Provence in France. 

 The tree is very ornamental, but lequires the shelter of a wall in this climate, and while young either 

 to be kept in the green-house or covered during severe frosts. The time of flowering is June and July, 

 but ripe fruits are rarely produced in this country. The principal importation of Storax is said to be 

 from Turkey, where it is obtained both by gathering that which naturally exudes from the trees, and 

 also by making artificial incisions, to which hollow reeds are affixed to receive it. From the accounts 

 of some travellers published by Du Hamel, we learn that they generally adulterate it by mixing it with 

 wax. The Storax-tree is by no means a new acquisition in this country. Gerard in his Herball, pub- 

 lished in 1597) informs us that he had two small trees of it in his garden. It is however still a very 

 scarce plant, and only to be found in a few of the principal collections, which, we are informed, is 

 occasioned by the great difficulty of propagating it either by cuttings or layers. 



The specimen was communicated, in the beginning of last June, from the well-known garden of the 

 Company of Apothecaries at Chelsea. 



