Styrax obassia Seeds | Fragrant Snowbell
LATIN NAME: Styrax obassia
COMMON NAME: Fragrant Snowbell
Plant Profile
Known to gardeners as Fragrant Snowbell, Styrax obassia is a generous, easy tree in the family Styracaceae. Neat, round-headed tree carries rounded, softly downy leaves, and drooping clusters of small, white, five-petalled, fragrant bells hang below branches through early summer. Tree has a fine, quiet beauty, and it is a generous, easy tree of warm, sheltered garden. It is a plant of moist, well-drained ground. Pollinating insects take to the flowers at once, adding a little wildlife interest to its garden value. In combination, these characteristics make a persuasive case for growing it.
Science & Biotechnology
Research touching on Styrax obassia ranges from the botany of Styracaceae to practical horticulture, including seed handling, propagation and the selection of superior forms. Fragrant snowbell has a steady and growing place in plant science, and it has been studied for its fragrant, bell-shaped flowers and its place among styrax trees. For researchers, plants like this one offer practical material for propagation studies and selection work.
Uses & Benefits
Gardeners value Fragrant Snowbell for its ornamental character, and the plant also fits naturally into herb, vegetable and cutting gardens. Fragrant snowbell is grown for fragrant, bell-shaped flowers. Drooping clusters of small, white bells hang below branches in early summer, filling warm garden with a fine, sweet scent, and they are a generous food for bees of the season. Neat, round-headed tree is a fine, easy addition to lawn, woodland edge and specimen planting, and rounded leaves give it a soft, quiet look. A plant that has settled in will get along with only routine care.
Storax resin is a classical aromatic incense and a Chinese medicine, Su He Xiang, for reviving the senses; the snowbell trees themselves are fragrant spring beauties.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Fragrant Snowbell, and the process is uncomplicated. Sow the seed evenly over the surface and cover lightly, using a loose, well-drained seed compost, and keep it just moist in bright light until the seedlings are well up. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Fragrant Snowbell is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Its wants are few — a sunny spot, soil that drains, and time to settle in.
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