The ancient resin that once warded off winged snakes is now a modern antiseptic.

Gardening · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Styrax trees produce a fragrant resin that has been traded for millennia, from the incense of the ancient world to the first-aid kits of today. While once believed to repel mythical winged serpents, this resin contains potent compounds that actually serve as effective disinfectants and local anesthetics for human injuries.

The genus Styrax comprises about 130 species of shrubs and trees found primarily in Asia, though they also grow in the Americas. These plants are best known for their pendulous, bell-shaped white flowers and the aromatic resin they exude when their bark is pierced. This substance, known as benzoin or storax, has been a prized commodity since antiquity. Phoenician merchants once imported it into Greece, and it was even mentioned in the Book of Exodus as a sacred incense ingredient.

The historical record of these resins is famously tangled. Ancient sources often conflated Styrax with the unrelated Turkish sweetgum, a relict species from the family Altingiaceae. Even the name 'styrene'—the chemical building block for modern polystyrene plastics—is a misnomer; it was originally isolated from the sweetgum's Levant storax rather than the Styrax genus itself. Despite this confusion, the medicinal value of true Styrax resin was well-documented by figures like Avicenna, who utilized it in dental restoratives. Today, its antibiotic properties are attributed to benzoic acid and its esters.

Beyond its chemical utility, Styrax holds cultural and ecological significance. In Japan, the wood of S. japonicus is used to craft the kokyū, a traditional bowed instrument. However, the genus faces modern threats. While some species are popular garden ornamentals, others are critically endangered. The palo de jazmin (S. portoricensis) is so rare that only four individuals are known to survive in a single location, leaving the species vulnerable to total extinction from a single severe weather event like a hurricane.

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