深山含笑 shen shan han xiao

Magnolia maudiae (Dunn) Figlar; Michelia chingii W. C. Cheng.

Trees, to 20 m tall, glabrous. Bark pale gray or grayish brown, thin. Young twigs, buds, leaf blade abaxial surfaces, and bracts white powdery. Petiole 1-3 cm, without a stipular scar; leaf blade oblong-elliptic to rarely ovate-elliptic, 7-18 × 3.5-8.5 cm, leathery, abaxially grayish green and glaucous, adaxially deep green and glossy, secondary veins 7-12 on each side of midvein, straight or slightly curved, and divaricate and netted, reticulate veins dense, base cuneate, broadly cuneate, or obtuse, apex abruptly shortly acuminate to shortly acuminate and with an obtuse tip. Brachyblasts green, with 3 annular bract scars; spathaceous bracts pale brown, ca. 3 cm, thinly leathery. Flowers fragrant. Tepals 9, white but base slightly pale red; outer tepals obovate, 5-7 × 3.5-4 cm, base ca. 1 cm clawed, apex shortly acute; tepals of inner 2 whorls gradually narrowing, nearly spoon-shaped, apex acute. Stamens 1.5-2.2 cm; filaments pale purple, flat, ca. 4 mm; connective exserted and forming a 1-2 mm tip. Gynophore 5-8 mm; gynoecium 1.5-1.8 cm; carpels green, narrowly ovoid, 5-6 mm including style. Fruit 7-15 cm; mature carpels ellipsoid, obovoid, or ovoid, apex obtuse or abruptly mucronate. Seeds red, obliquely ovoid, ca. 10 × 5 mm, slightly compressed. Fl. Feb-Mar, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 38*.

● Evergreen broad-leaved forests; 600-1500 m. S Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Hunan, S Zhejiang.

This species is grown as an ornamental. It is used medicinally and for timber.