STORAX, or STYRAX, in natural history, a dry and solid resin, of a reddish colour, and a peculiarly fragrant smell; of which there are two kinds, the styrax calamita, or styrax in tears, and the styrax vulgaris; whereof the former is by far the purer and finer kind, imported in small loose granules, or else in large masses composed of such granules: it anciently used to be packed up in reeds, for the more secure carriage; whence the name. The common storax is likewise a fine and pure resin, though less so than the former: and is brought to us in large lumps, not formed of granules, but of one uniform consistence.
These are the two genuine kinds of storax; but neither of them is that met with in our shops, which is a kind of saw-dust connected into lumps, by just so much of the storax resin as will make the other matters hang together. This is what our apothecaries use, under the name of storax; but it is advisable to strain carefully the pure resin from the filth, and use no part of the latter.
The two genuine kinds of storax, which ought always
to be used where they can be had, differ only in this; that the granulated storax flows naturally from the styrax tree, and the common kind is obtained from the same tree by incision.
Storax is brought to us from Syria, and the East-Indies; and ought to be chosen pure, very fragrant, and of an acid taste. It is much recommended as a detergent and balsamic, in disorders of the breast; it is also esteemed a cordial, and is recommended in vertigoes and other disorders of the head and nerves.