Styracaceae

Trees or shrubs bark sometimes resinous, rarely thorny. Leaves deciduous, simple, alternate (spiral); margins entire or toothed; usually stellate, peltate or lepidote hairs, often brown or reddish. Inflorescence cymes, racemes, panicles, or rarely 2-flowered. Flowers mainly bisexual; actinomorphic; often bracteoles absent. Petals fused; imbricate; or valvate; white, rarely pink or yellow. Ovary superior to inferior; carpels fused. Fruit a loculicidal capsule, drupe, samara, berry-like or nut-like.

Worldwide: 11 genera and 160 species in warm temperate and tropical America, Mediterranean, SE Asia and W Malesia

Zimbabwe: 1 cultivated genus and 1 cultivated taxon.