Styrax obassia

Styrax obassia is a species of flowering plant in the Styracaceae family. It is native to Hokkaido island of Japan and to China.

Styrax obassia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Styracaceae
Genus: Styrax
Species:
S. obassia
Binomial name
Styrax obassia
Illustration from Philipp Franz von Siebold's Flora Japonica

Taxonomy

The name of the plant is sometimes spelled Styrax obassis,[1] but the original spelling is obassia.[2] In the history of botany, different people have used all three grammatical genders for the genus Styrax, and reasonable arguments could be made for treating it as neuter, feminine, or masculine, although it has been recommended that masculine gender should be used.[3] Choosing masculine gender could produce the obassis spelling, except that the specific epithet is not a Botanical Latin adjective to be declined in that way, but a vernacular name.[4]

Cultivation

Styrax obassis is cultivated as an ornamental plant in gardens.

References

  1. Shumei Huang and James W. Grimes, "Styrax obassis Siebold & Zuccarini, Fl. Jap. 1: 93. 1839", Flora of ChinaCS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  2. Philipp Franz von Siebold and Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini (1839), Flora Japonica, 1, p. 93CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. Nicolson, D.H.; Steyskal, G.C. (1976), "The Masculine Gender of the Generic Name Styrax Linnaeus (Styracaceae)", Taxon, 25 (5/6): 581–587, doi:10.2307/1220113, JSTOR 1220113CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. "Entry for Styrax obassia", The International Plant Names Index, retrieved 11 December 2016
  • E. Kato and T. Hiura, Fruit set in Styrax obassia (Styracaceae): the effect of light availability, display size, and local floral density, American Journal of Botany. 1999;86:495-501.
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