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Styrax fortunei Hance

Styracaceae · China South-Central, China North-Central +1

Photographs not checked iNaturalist was skipped (not asked) when this page was built. Not asked, or not answered, is not "none": nothing here claims there is none. Why the site says it this way.
Add one to my plants
Sow seed
Habitat figuresfrom few records
Cold floor (1 night in 100)
-6.2°C
Record low -18.0 °C in 44 years, at a typical spot in the range NASA POWER
Warmest month, mean daily high
31°C
Jul and Aug at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
1,593mm
12 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
17–32DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in your months, northern hemisphere
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Wet summers: the rain comes March to August, read as a summer growing season. rain rule, CHELSA
Northern hemisphere unless you set your site. The chart is in the habitat's months.

From few records: 5 records in 5 grid cells. The records.

About the genus · Styrax

Styrax is a genus of about 130 species of large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, mostly native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority in eastern and southeastern Asia, but also crossing the equator in South America. The resin obtained from the tree is called benzoin or storax, often used as a vanilla-like component in perfumery.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Styrax", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Seasons

The rain rule reads a summer growing season: 70% of the median year's rain (1,147 mm of 1,536 mm) falls in March to August, warmer than the year (wet-season mean 21.5 °C against a yearly mean of 16.4 °C). Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: September to February.

Rain

1,536 mm in the median year at the habitat, 1,147 mm of it March to August. Wettest month June at 315 mm, driest month December at 39 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 1,220 mm to 1,733 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 1,593 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 1,536 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, northern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 17 to 32 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 14, the highest 90th-percentile month 34).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range is -6.2 °C, the absolute minimum -18.0 °C, 2,668 frost nights in 44 years, 60.6 a year (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 37.6 °C. Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low -1.0 °C in January (across the grid cells of the range -1.5 °C to 7.6 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 31.4 °C in July (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: -6.2 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range (NASA POWER).

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 57 to 64% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. NASA POWER daily minima and maxima over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, lapse-corrected -16 m to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. The cold floor is the 1st-percentile night named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Climate across the habitat

From few records: this habitat climate is read from 5 records in 5 grid cells; a page says so under 12 records or 5 cells, and shows the figures as read.

Habitat months, northern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Styrax fortunei through the yearWarmest months July and August, mean daily high 31 °C; coldest month January, mean nightly low -1.0 °C; 1,536 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA; the extremes at the edge from NASA POWER. Habitat months, northern hemisphere.-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°frost37.6° 99th-percentile day, NASA POWER-18.0° lowest night in 44 years, NASA POWER°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400mm rainDLI 17–32RH 57–64%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 5 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low extremes over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, from NASA POWER, marked at the edge, in no month DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C8 / 7–1510 / 9–1614 / 14–2020 / 20–2525 / 25–2828 / 28–3031 / 31–3231 / 31–3227 / 27–3122 / 22–2716 / 16–2210 / 10–17
Night °C-1 / -2–81 / 0–105 / 4–1311 / 11–1817 / 16–2121 / 21–2425 / 24–2525 / 24–2520 / 19–2314 / 13–197 / 6–141 / 0–9
Rain mm65 / 57–7571 / 64–89113 / 97–140157 / 92–161191 / 102–271315 / 189–322210 / 197–242161 / 143–19483 / 80–10767 / 63–8164 / 62–7339 / 36–44
DLI17 / 14–1720 / 14–2123 / 16–2528 / 21–3131 / 26–3430 / 27–3232 / 32–3431 / 31–3227 / 26–3023 / 23–2519 / 18–2017 / 17–17
RH %59 / 58–6061 / 58–6260 / 58–6460 / 58–6460 / 59–6463 / 63–6564 / 62–6563 / 63–6562 / 59–6358 / 57–6058 / 57–5957 / 56–58
How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 5 grid cells holding the 5 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 1173:5988 (31.325, 119.425). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum -18.0 °C, 1st-percentile night -6.2 °C, 99th-percentile day 37.6 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 5 distinct grid cells holding 5 of the 5 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1173:5988 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 31.50_119.375, lapse-corrected -16 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 22 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeChina South-Central, China North-Central, China Southeast · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker30.19, 119.36 · in the densest population, 83 records (41% of those in range)
Kew's description“shrub or tree” · “temperate” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 201 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 5 of them placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 100 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 368 km away. 5 records outside the WCVP native range not used. Under a dozen records behind the climate. 196 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population inside the densest 2° block of the 201 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Not checked. iNaturalist was skipped (not asked) when this page was built; GBIF's observation records with coordinates hold none. Not a statement that none exist.

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Paliurus hemsleyanus Rhamnaceae Viburnum macrocephalum Viburnum macrocephalum Chinese snowball viburnum Photo: CC BY, Joseph McPhailDiospyros rhombifolia Diospyros rhombifolia Diamond leaf Persimmon Photo: CC BY, 王天明 Schnabelia nepetifolia Lamiaceae Cercis chinensis Cercis chinensis Chinese redbud Photo: CC BY, mister_bumbleRhododendron molle Rhododendron molle Ericaceae Photo: CC BY, Wang.QG

Other Styrax 17 in the reference

Styrax americanus Styrax americanus American snowbell Photo: CC BY, Samuel Buckner Styrax chinensis Styracaceae Styrax confusus Styrax confusus Styracaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, David J. StangStyrax faberi Styrax faberi Styracaceae Photo: CC BY, Aaron ListonStyrax formosanus Styrax formosanus Taiwanese snowbell Photo: CC BY, 黃美滿Styrax grandifolius Styrax grandifolius Big-leaf snowbell Photo: CC BY, David Wilkins Styrax hemsleyanus Styracaceae Styrax hookeri Styracaceae Styrax japonicus Styrax japonicus Japanese snowbell Photo: CC BY, mami_t_tStyrax obassia Styrax obassia Fragrant snowbell Photo: CC0, author not statedStyrax odoratissimus Styrax odoratissimus Fragrant Snowbell Photo: CC0, author not statedStyrax officinalis Styrax officinalis Drug snowbell Photo: CC BY, Roderick Cameron all 18 ›

Names & registers

Also known as Styrax calvescens; Styrax dasyanthus; Styrax dasyanthus var. cinerascens; Styrax dasyanthus var. hypoleucus. (GBIF Backbone)

Kew accepts as species of their own Styrax rubifolius: older names in GBIF's record of this species that Kew's World Checklist accepts as other species. (WCVP, RBG Kew, file of 2026-06-04)

GBIFPOWOIPNIWFOWikidata

The record

Family
Styracaceae
Described by
Hance
Native to
China South-Central, China North-Central, China Southeast
Wild records
201 in range · 100 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
GBIF species record gbif.species answeredasked 2026-10-22
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms answeredasked 2026-10-22
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular answeredasked 2026-10-22names fetched 2026-10-22
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredas of 2026-10-21GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 5 records within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (5 at a botanic garden or arboretum; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 31.50_119.375, lapse-corrected -16 m at 6.5 °C/km
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22
Wikipedia wikipedia nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist taxon inat.taxon not asked
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22
Wikimedia Commons commons nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 18 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

Cultifolio

Opening your plants…