Styrax platanifolius

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Styrax platanifolius
Styrax platanifolius.jpg

Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Styracaceae
Genus: Styrax
Species:
S. platanifolius
Binomial name
Styrax platanifolius
Engelm.

Styrax platanifolius is a species of flowering plant in the family Styracaceae known by the common name sycamoreleaf snowbell.[1] It is native to northeastern Mexico in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas[2] and the US state of Texas, especially on the Edwards Plateau.[3]

Description[]

This is a shrub which can grow to 6 meters. The leaves are variable in shape, generally oval with smooth, toothed, or lobed edges, and measuring 4.5 to 12 centimeters in length. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or cluster of up to 7. The bell-shaped white flower is 1 or 2 centimeters long. The fruit is a hairy, spherical capsule about a centimeter long.[2]

Taxonomy[]

There are five subspecies of this plant.[2] Some were formerly considered species, but genetic analysis suggests they are more closely related and should be treated as subtaxa of one species.[4] The subspecies are mostly characterized on the basis of the amount and arrangement of hairs on the leaves and other parts.[2]

Subspecies:[2]

  • S. p. ssp. mollis - known from the Sierra Madre Oriental in Nuevo León and Tamaulipas in Mexico.
  • S. p. ssp. platanifolius - once the most widespread subspecies and now quite rare.
  • S. p. ssp. stellatus (hairy sycamoreleaf snowbell) - formerly S. stellatus, a rare subspecies found along the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau
  • S. p. ssp. texanus (Texas snowbell) - formerly S. texana or S. texanus, rare and federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.[5][6] There are about 22 populations remaining in the state of Texas.[4]
  • S. p. ssp. youngiae (Young's snowbell) - formerly S. youngiae, occurs in Coahuila and possibly in the Davis Mountains of Texas.

  • Leaves of ssp. stellatus have white stellate hairs

References[]

  1. ^ "Styrax platanifolius". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Styrax platanifolius. Flora of North America.
  3. ^ Styrax platanifolius. The Nature Conservancy.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b USFWS. Styrax platanifolius ssp. texana Five-year Review. September 2008.
  5. ^ Styrax platanifolius ssp. texanus. Texas Parks & Wildlife.
  6. ^ Styrax texanus. Center for Plant Conservation.
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