Storax calamite
Storace calamita
- Known today as
- The resin of Styrax officinalis, packed in reeds (calami) for export.
- Kind
- Resin & Wood, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- cinnamic acid, styrene, storesin, and 1 more
- Earliest authority here
- Herodotus (c. 484–c. 425 BC)
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
- In the Canale glossary
- On the Manner of Discerning and Healing the Bewitched, Appendix A: Part Three, Chapters 7–8: The Bath and Fumigations
Revised October 1, 2026: Lore added from texts read in full. Version 1, first published September 25, 2026.
Storax calamite: what did Canale use it for?
In the fumigation and the oil (chs. 8–9).
Storax calamite: what does modern science say?
Aromatic; extracts of the plant show some antimicrobial activity in the laboratory.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- Mechanism
- The balsam of the Asian sweetgum: antiseptic and expectorant by the cinnamates, which is why it is in compound benzoin tincture; the storax of the ancients was the Styrax officinalis resin, now lost from commerce. Styrene, the monomer of polystyrene, was first distilled from it.
- Toxic dose
- Safe externally; sensitising.
- Standing
- In the BP compound benzoin tincture; a perfumery material.
- Hovaneissian, M., et al. (2008). “Analytical investigation of styrax and benzoin balsams by HPLC-PAD-fluorimetry and GC-MS.” Phytochemical Analysis 19. Verified against its record · doi:10.1002/pca.1048
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Storax calamite: what lore surrounds it?
Folkard: “The Styrax, or Storax-tree, has been held in great estimation from the time of Dioscorides and Pliny,” and its gum, “known as Storax-tears, can only be obtained in perfection from Asiatic Turkey.” He quotes Gerarde, “of this gum, there are made sundry excellent perfumes, pomanders, sweet waters, sweet bags, sweet washing-balls, and divers other sweet chains and bracelets,” and adds that “Storax-tears are still used as incense in the churches and mosques of Asia Minor.”
Storax calamite: what did the older authorities say?
- Herodotus
- Tells that the Arabians burned storax to drive off the winged serpents that guarded the frankincense trees.
Sources
- [68] Jaradat, N. (2020). Phytochemistry, traditional uses and biological effects of the desert plant Styrax officinalis L. Journal of Arid Environments 182: 104253. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104253 Verified against its record · doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104253
- [123] Woodville, W. (1790–1794). Medical Botany: Styrax officinale, Officinal Storax. Transcribed at Henriette’s Herbal Homepage, henriettes-herb.com. Book, seen in reviews
- Folkard, R. (1884). Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, “Storax.” Project Gutenberg #44638. Primary text
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 4 cited: 2 verified against its record, 1 primary text, 1 book, seen in reviews.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“Storax calamite.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/storax-calamite.
- MLA
“Storax calamite.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/storax-calamite. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Storax calamite. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/storax-calamite
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See Also
Sharing cinnamic acid, vanillin
Also in Herodotus
Alum in Herodotus · Radish in Herodotus · Castor-oil plant, seeds of in Herodotus · Onion in Herodotus · everything Herodotus names →
Drawing on the same sources: Folkard
Sweet almond, oil of · Spikenard · Sweet flag · the bibliography →
Nearby in the alphabet
Sugar (Saccharum officinarum) · The stole (the sign of his sacred office) · Sulfur (Brimstone) · Stinkhorn · Sumac · St. Zacharias cross (each standing for a Latin invocation against the plague) · St. Walburga’s oil (A clear liquid that gathers on the stone slab over the relics of St)
Historical description, not medical advice.