Styrax americanus, commonly called American snowbell, is a deciduous shrub or small tree that typically grows to 6-10′ (less frequently to 15′) tall. It is a wetland species that is native to wet woods, swamps, marsh peripheries, floodplains and stream banks, sometimes growing in standing water, primarily in the southeastern U. S. from Florida to eastern Texas north along the coastal plain to Virginia and up the Mississippi valley to southeastern Missouri and further up the Ohio valley to southern Illinois and southern Indiana. Shrubs in Missouri typically occur in bald cypress/tupelo swamps and wet woods in the far southeastern bootheel region.