PlantFocus Styrax

摘要

Gardeners often search for plants to fill that strange gap between late spring and summer, when there is a lack of flowering plants. Styrax is a deciduous or evergreen small tree or large shrub which can be used to plug this "June gap", their main feature being pure white flowers that hang elegantly from the branches.There are around 120 species of Styrax, in warm temperate and tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are in eastern and south-eastern Asia, with many species in China and Japan. The best known here is Styrax japonica, usually referredto as the Snowbell tree. It is arguably the finest of the Styrax trees, with a graceful habit and a tough nature. Its bell-shaped flowers are pure white with yellow stamens, borne in profusion along the branches.