Abstract: Since the establishment of the family Styracaceae by Dumortier in 1829, 15 genera have been associated with it. Its components and circumscription were debated often and are still Waiting for evidences other than megamorphology to further clarify. The present paper contributes the knowledge of pollen morphology for this purpose. Pollen grains of 13 genera and 93 species in the family (sensu lato) were observed and described. Based on our own observation and data from other authors, 3 pollen types may be distinguished; viz., Styrax-type (including: Styrax, Alniphyllum, Bruinsmia, Pamphilia, Huodendron, Halesia, Pterostyrax, Rehderodendron, Melliodendron, Sinojackia, Parastyrax) ; Afrostyrax-type (Afrostyrax, Hua, Lissocarpa) and Symplocos-type ( Symplocos ) . In Wagenitz’s (1964) system of the family Styracaceae, the genera Symplocos, Afrostyrax, Hua and Lissocarpa are excluded. Its components are the remained 11 genera. It is interested enough that their pollen grains are all of the Styraxtype. Obviously, Wagenitz’s Styracaceae is very natural from the viewpoint of pollen morphology. Concerning the intergeneric relationships, almost all variations observed in the pollen of the 10 small styraceous genera are encountered in the large genus Styrax. The genus Styrax seems to be the stock of this family, and the others, the final products derived from it in the course of evolution.

Key words: Styracaceae, Pollen morphology, Taxonomy