青皮玉兰 qing pi yu lan

Trees. Juvenile twigs pale yellowish green, robust, ca. 1 cm in diam., shiny, sparsely to densely pubescent, later glabrescent, conspicuously lenticellate. Stipular scar ring conspicuously prominent, ca. 1/3 as long as petiole, densely pubescent. Petiole 3.5-4.5 cm, sparsely pubescent; leaf blade circular, elliptic, or broadly elliptic, 15-19.5 × 11.5-15.5 cm, papery, abaxially grayish green and villous along midvein and secondary veins, adaxially dark green and sparsely pubescent along midvein, secondary veins 6-9 on each side of midvein and spreading, base rotund to cordate, apex obtuse and rarely with a short mucro. Brachyblasts densely annular grayish white villous at apex, usually glabrous or pubescent from base to middle; bracts 3 or 4, abaxially densely pale yellow, brown, or grayish white villous; spathaceous bracts 1, blackish brown, membranous, abaxially densely pale gray villous. Flower buds pale yellowish green, ellipsoid to ovoid, 1.5-2.5 × 1.7-2.5 cm. Flowers appearing before leaves. Tepals 33-48, outside basal 1/2 red, inside pure white, narrowly elliptic, 5.7-7.2 × 1-1.5 cm, base narrowly cuneate, apex obtuse. Stamens ca. 80, 1.3-1.5 cm; filaments ca. 3 mm, abaxially purplish red; connective with ca. 1 mm long mucro at apex; anthers dehiscing latrorsely. Gynoecium cylindric, ca. 3 cm; carpels many, green, glabrous; styles red, curved inward. Fruit not seen. Fl. Mar.

● Forests; ca. 700 m. Shaanxi (Hanzhong).

The authors have not seen any specimens of this species, but judging from the description and illustration in the protologue it may be a hybrid between species of Yulania cultivated for the production of medicinal xinyi.