Styrax americanus Lam.

American Snowbell; American Storax

Tree

Perennial

Vascular

American Snowbell is a native deciduous shrub in the Storax family (Styracaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. American Snowbell grows on floodplains, in swamps, in bogs, and in seeps. It is a shrub or small tree growing to 15 feet in height. It is a sometimes colonial, suckering from the roots. The bark is smooth and gray. Leaves are petiolate, alternate, elliptic to obovate in outline, with entire or serrate margins. The upper leaf surface is dark green and glabrous or sparsely pubescent. The lower leaf surface is slightly to densely pubescent with star-shaped (stellate) hairs. Fragrant flowers are produced in terminal appearing drooping racemes of 2-5 flowers. Individual flowers are white in color with 4-6 spreading or recurved corolla lobes. The fruit is a globose, nut-like structure with 2-3 seed. American Snowbell is a showy species when in flower. It is sometimes available from nurseries that specialize in native trees and shrubs. American Snowbell prefers a moist, acidic, organic-rich soil. Plants are tolerant of water-logged soils and flooding for short periods of time.—A. Diamond.

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Native FACW (NWPL)

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