Magnolia sprengeri
| Sprenger's magnolia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Magnolia sprengeri flowering in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, accession #228-2005*A | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Magnoliids |
| Order: | Magnoliales |
| Family: | Magnoliaceae |
| Genus: | Magnolia |
| Subgenus: | Magnolia subg. Yulania |
| Section: | Magnolia sect. Yulania |
| Subsection: | Magnolia subsect. Yulania |
| Species: | M. sprengeri
|
| Binomial name | |
| Magnolia sprengeri | |
Magnolia sprengeri, or Sprenger's magnolia, is a species of Magnolia native to China, occurring in Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan in forests or thickets at 1300–2400 m altitude. Named for Carl Ludwig Sprenger, a botanist of note.
Identification[edit]
It is a small deciduous tree, to 20 m in height with pale grayish brown to blackish brown, exfoliating bark. Young twigs are pale yellowish brown. The dark green leaves are obovate, 10–18 cm long and 4.5–10 cm broad, with a 1–3 cm petiole. Fragrant flowers appear before leaves, erect, cup-shaped, 15 cm wide, with 12-14 tepals that are white to rosy-red. The fruit is a cylindric aggregate of follicles 6–18 cm long.
Fossil record[edit]
Fossils of Magnolia sprengeri have been described from the fossil flora of Kızılcahamam district in Turkey, which is of early Pliocene age.[1]
Cultivation[edit]
It is grown as an ornamental tree for its flowers. Several cultivars have been named, including 'Diva', 'Lanhydrock', and 'Wakehurst'. The cultivars 'Burncoose',[2] 'Copeland Court',[3] and 'Eric Savill'[4] have all won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
The species and its cultivars are hardy to roughly USDA hardiness zone 6. A number of hybrids with other Magnolias have also been developed.
Gallery[edit]
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'Diva' Bud -
'Diva' Flower -
Trunk bark with woodpecker holes -
M. sprengeri flower, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, accession #228-2005*A.
References[edit]
- ^ Kasaplıgil, Baki (1977). "Ankara, Kızılcahamam yakınındaki Güvem köyü civarında bulunan son tersiyer kozalaklı-yeşil yapraklı ormanı" [A Late-Tertiary Conifer-Hardwood Forest From the Vicinity of Güvem Village, Near Kızılcahamam, Ankara] (PDF). Bulletin of the Mineral Research and Exploration (in Turkish and English). 88. Ankara: General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration: 94–102.
- ^ "Magnolia sprengeri var. diva 'Burncoose' AGM". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- ^ "Magnolia sprengeri var. diva 'Copeland Court' AGM". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
- ^ "Magnolia sprengeri var. diva 'Eric Savill' AGM". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
External links[edit]
