The genus Styrax has an estimated 120 species in eastern Asia, the New World, and the Mediterranean region. ''Styrax platanifolius'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Styracaceae The Styracaceae are a small family of flowering plants in the order Ericales, containing 12 genera and about 160 species of trees and shrubs. The family occurs in warm temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family is ...

known by the common name sycamoreleaf snowbell or "Texas Snowbell". It is native to northeastern Mexico in the states of

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, and

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

''Styrax platanifolius''.
Flora of North America. and the US state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, especially on the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

.''Styrax platanifolius''.
The Nature Conservancy. Styrax flowering season is estimated to be during the months of April-May. Its fruiting season has been observed to be during July-September. ''Styrax platanifolius'' thrive in more of a subhumid climate (40-70 cm mean annual precipitation, significant summer rain).

Description

This is a flowering 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 In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

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.

Taxonomy

There are five subspecies of this plant. Some were formerly considered species, but

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts ...

suggests they are more closely related and should be treated as subtaxa of one species.USFWS
''Styrax platanifolius'' ssp. ''texana'' Five-year Review.
September 2008. The subspecies are mostly characterized on the basis of the amount and arrangement of hairs on the leaves and other parts. The Texas Snowbell is characterized mostly by its shape. The petals of the shrub are white and it hangs upside down. This shape resembles a bell and because of the color it gained the name “snowbell”.

Subspecies

*''S. p.'' ssp. ''mollis'' - known from the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

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 An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

of the United States.''Styrax platanifolius'' ssp. ''texanus''.
Texas Parks & Wildlife.''Styrax texanus''.
Center for Plant Conservation. There are about 22 populations remaining in the state of Texas. *''S. p.'' ssp. ''youngiae'' (Young's snowbell) - formerly ''S. youngiae'', occurs in Coahuila and in the

Davis Mountains The Davis Mountains, originally known as Limpia Mountains, are a range of mountains in West Texas, United States, located near Fort Davis, Texas, Fort Davis, after which they are named. The fort was named for then-United States Secretary of War ...

of Texas. Two populations were recently discovered in eastern Jeff Davis County. File:Styrax platanifolius ssp stellatus.jpg, Leaves of ssp. ''stellatus'' have white stellate hairs

Conservation Status

The texas snowbell is one of the most endangered plant species in Texas. It can be found in the San Antonio Botanical Center . The lack of genetic variation found in the species disabled it from being able to withstand evolution which explains there are not many found today. Scientists are still trying to decide whether to keep the rare texas snowbells conserved in a safe space or to keep them in nature and allow natural selection take place to allow a new generation to emerge.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7629799 platanifolius Flora of Coahuila Flora of Nuevo León Flora of Tamaulipas Flora of Texas Flora of Mexico