232 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM. PART III. 
ginning of April, and the odour of the flowers is perceived at a great distance. 
This is the tree, the ripened seeds of which produced M. c. Soulangeana. 
The original plant of M. c. Soulangedna, at Fromont, is not more than 12 ft. 
high, and, though it has flowered every year for several years past, it did not 
ripen seeds till 1834. These seeds have been sown; and M. Soulange-Bodin 
informs us that he expects some interesting new sorts from them. In the 
botanic garden at Ghent there is a standard tree of M. conspicua 22 ft. high. 
In Germany, M. conspfcua is trained against a wall, or kept in the conser- 
vatory ; and in Italy, and the South of Europe, it has not been long planted ; 
though both the species, and the var. M. c. Soulangedna, are at Monza, where, 
as before noticed, M. conspicua has ripened seeds; as has also, as Signor 
Manetti informs us, M. c. Soulangeana. 
Commercial Statistics. The price of M. conspicua in the London nurseries 
is from 2s. 6d. to 5s. a plant ; at Bollwyller, 10 francs ; in New York, ?. 
210. M. purpu‘rea Bot. Mag. The purple-flowered Magnolia. 
Identification. Sims, in Bot. Mag. 
Synonymes. M. obovata Thun. ; M. discolor Vent.; M. denudata Lam.; the obovate-leaved Mag- 
nolia; Magnolier discoloré Bon. Jard., and Magnolie bicoloré Dun., Fr.; rothe Bieberbaum, 
Ger. 
Engravings. Sal. Par., t 87.; Bot. Mag., t. 390.; E. of Pl., 7908.; and our jig. 36. 
Spec. Char. Deciduous. Leaves obovate, acute, reticulately veined; almost 
smooth. Flowers erect, of 3 sepals and 6 obovate petals; styles very short. 
(Don’s Miil., 1. p.84.) A shrub from Japan, with flowers purple on the 
outside, and white within. March, April, and May. 1790. 
Varieties. In De Candolle’s Prodromus, and in Don’s Miller, three varieties 
are described: M. p. denudata Lam., distinguished by the flowering 
branches being without leaves; MM. p. discolor Vent., which is said to be 
rather more tender than the species; and . p. liliflora Lam., the petals of 
which are white on both sides. These varieties were originally described 
by Kempfer ; but, as far as we know, none of them are in British gardens. 
Several plants of this species having been raised from seed ripened in this 
country, the plants may exhibit slight shades of difference, as has been the 
case with certain seedlings raised in the Brentford Nursery; but, as far as 
we have observed, none of these are worth keeping distinct. The only 
variety which we consider truly distinct is MM. p. gracilis, considered as a 
species by Salisbury and other botanists, but which, we are convinced, is 
nothing more than a race, or a variety. 
Description. A deciduous shrub, attaining, 
in the gardens about London, the height of 
from 6 ft. to 10 ft. in as many years, and seldom 
growing much higher as a bush. The stems are 
numerous, but not much branched; the leaves 
are large, of a very dark green; and the plant 
produces a profusion of flowers, which do not 
expand fully till a day or two before they drop 
off; and which, unless the weather is warm, do 
not expand at all, but wither on the plant, 
and disfigure it. The flowers are large, more 
or less purple (according to the season, but 
never wholly dark purple) without, and always 
white within. The bark, when bruised, has an 
aromatic odour. It is a very ornamental species, 
and no garden ought to be without it. , 
Geography, History, $c. Found wild in 
Japan; and cultivated there, and in China, in 
gardens. It was discovered by Thunberg, and 
imported by him into England, in 1790. It has : 
since been generally distributed thoughout the botanic and first-rate private 
gardens of Europe. About London and Paris, it is not only propagated for 
