Storax (resin)

A brown, sticky, aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Liquidambar, including L. orientalis, native to Turkey. A white solid powder that forms in the steam distillate obtained from storax is polystyrene. Storax resin is sometimes used as a mounting media for microscope slides. For the a brown, aromatic resin obtained from the genus Styrax, use "benzoin." Resins from both Sytrax and Liquidambar trees were formerly called "storax," but "storax" is no longer used for resin of genus Styrax.