STANDLEY TREES AISTD SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 275 



Carpels bivalvate at maturity; petals comparatively thin 1. MAGNOLIA, 



Carpels indehisceut ; petals thick and leathery 2. TALAUMA, 



Stipules none ; flowers less than 3 cm. long ; carpels verticillate in a single series. 

 Leaves glaucous beneath ; carpels indehiscent ; sepals valvate__3. DRIMYS. 

 Leaves green beneath ; carpels dehiscent ; sepals imbricate 4. ILLICIUM, 



1. MAGNOLIA L. Sp. PI. 535. 1753. 



Large trees ; leaves petiolate, persistent or deciduous ; flowers large, white, 

 solitary ; sepals 3 ; petals 6 to 12 ; fruit conelike. 



Most of the species of magnolias have very showy flowers, and many are in 

 cultivation. Maynolia grandiflora L., the bull bay of the southeastern United 

 States, with handsome evergreen leaves, is said to be cultivated in Mexico and 

 to be known as " magnolia " and " Semiramis." 

 Leaves persistent, the blades rounded to acute at base, green beneath. 



1. M. schiedeana. 

 Leaves deciduous, the blades cordate at base, white beneath 2 M. dealbata. 



1. Magnolia schiedeana Schlecht. Bot. Zeit. 1864: 144. 1864. 

 A^ei'acruz to Tepic and Sinaloa. 



Large tree; leaves oval or elliptic, 12 to 17 cm. long, acute, glabrous, with 

 very prominent, finely reticulate venation ; flowers creamy white, the petals 

 about 6 cm. long. "Corpus" (Tepic, Rose). 



Rose reports that a decoction of the flowers is used in Tepic as a remedy for 

 scorpion stings. 



2. Magnolia dealbata Zucc. Abh. Bayer. Akad. 2: 373. pi. 8, //. 1836. 

 Veracruz and Oaxaca ; type collected in forests near Rincou, at an altitude 



of 600 to 900 meters. 



Tree, 4.5 to 5.5 meters high (according to Zuccarini) ; leaves obovate-oval, 

 30 to 50 cm. long or larger, green on the upper surface, white beneath, obtuse 

 or acutish at apex ; flowers yellowish white, fragrant, 30 to 40 cm. broad ; seeds 

 covered with a fleshy orange aril. "Elosuehil " (Oaxaca; from the Nahuatl, 

 elotl, a green ear of corn with husk, and xochitl, flower). 



A relative of M. ma-crophylla Michx., of the southeastern United States, and 

 perhaps not distinct from it. Reported from Mexico by Sesse and Mocino ^ as 

 M. tripetala, a species confined to the southeastern United States. 



2. TALAUMA Juss. Gen. PI. 281. 1789. 

 1. Talauma mexicana (DC.) Don, Hist. Dichl. PI. 1: 851. 1831. 



Magnolia mexicana DC. Reg. Veg. Syst. 1: 451. 1818. 



Talauma maci'ocarpa Zucc. Abh. Bayer. Alvad. 2: 369. pi. 1, 2. 1836. 



Mountains of Veracruz, Oaxaca, Mexico, and Morelos. 



A large tree, sometimes 30 meters high, with a trunk 1.2 to 1.5 meters in 

 diameter; leaves persistent, oval or elliptic, 12 to 25 cm. long or larger, acute, 

 lustrous, reticulate-veined ; flowei-s large, white, sweet-scented, the petals and 

 sepals very thick and leathery, often tinged with puiT»le ; .sepals 3; seeds sur- 

 rounded by a fleshy red aril, hanging by a white threadlike funicle. " Flor de 

 corazCn " (Oaxaca, Veracruz, Morelos); " hualhua " (Veracruz, Morelos); 

 " yoloxochitl " (Nahuatl); " hierba de las mataduras " (Morelos, Mexico, 

 Ramirez) ; "laurel tulipan " (Morelos) ; " guielachi " (Oaxaca, Zapotec, Relco). 



This is one of the best-known of Mexican trees. It was highly esteemed by 

 the early inhabitants because of the sweet odor of the -blossoms, a single flov.er 

 being sufficient to perfume a whole house. The tree was cultivated in gardens, 

 and the flowers were reserved for the exclusive use of the nobility. The plant 



* Fl. Mex. 145. 1894. 



