天目玉兰 tian mu yu lan

Magnolia amoena W. C. Cheng, Contr. Biol. Lab. Sci. Soc. China, Bot. Ser. 9: 280. 1934.

Trees, to 12 m tall. Bark gray or grayish white. Twigs green when young becoming purple when old, 3-4 mm in diam., glabrous; buds with grayish white appressed trichomes. Stipular scar 1/5-1/2 as long as petiole. Petiole 0.8-1.3 cm, at first with white long trichomes; leaf blade obovate to narrowly obovate-elliptic, 10-15 × 3.5-5 cm, papery, abaxially with white curved long trichomes along veins and in axils, adaxially glabrous, secondary veins 10-13 on each side of midvein, base broadly cuneate to rounded, apex acuminate to abruptly cuspidate, acumen 0.5-2 cm. Spathaceous bract just below tepals. Flowers appearing before leaves, red to pale red, ca. 6 cm in diam., fragrant. Tepals 9, oblanceolate to spoon-shaped, 5-5.6 cm. Stamens 9-10 mm; filaments purplish red, 3.5-4 mm; connective exserted and forming a 0.5-0.7 mm mucro; anthers 4.5-5 mm, dehiscing laterally. Gynoecium cylindric, ca. 2 cm × 2 mm; stigmas ca. 1 mm. Fruiting peduncle ca. 1 cm, with residual villous trichomes. Fruit cylindric, 4-10 cm, usually curved because of carpels partly undeveloped; mature carpels compressed globose, ca. 10 × 6-7 mm, tuberculate, dehiscing into 2 valves along dorsal sutures, apex obtuse. Seeds (without testa) cordate, 8-9 × 5-6 mm. Fl. Apr-May, fr. Sep-Oct.

● Montane sparse forests; 700-1000 m. Anhui, Fujian, Hebei, S Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang.