1 596 The Trees of Great Britain and Ireland 



MAGNOLIA CONSPICUA 



Magnolia conspicua, Salisbury, Parad. Lond. t. 38 (1806) ; Sims, Bot. Mag. t. 1621 (1814); Loudon, 



Arb. et Frut. Brit. i. 278 (1838). 

 Magnolia precia} Correa, in Ventenat, Jard. Malm. 24, note 2 (1803); Schneider, Laubhohkunde, i. 



331 (1905). 

 Magnolia yulan, Desfontaines, Hist. Arb. ii. 6 (1809). 



A deciduous tree, attaining in China 30 to 50 ft. in height. Young branchlets 

 more or less covered with appressed white pubescence. Leaves obovate, or obovate- 

 oblong, about 4 to 6 in. long and 2^ to 4 in. wide, cuspidate-acuminate at the apex, 

 usually rounded and unequal at the base ; upper surface light green, more or less 

 covered with a minute pubescence, dense on the midrib and nerves ; lower surface 

 lighter green, similarly pubescent with longer white hairs ; minutely punctate with trans- 

 lucent dots ; network of veins beneath wrinkled and prominent ; petiole pubescent. 



Flowers, appearing in spring before the leaves, campanulate, sweet-scented, 

 about six inches across, pure white ; sepals resembling the petals ; petals six, fleshy, 

 concave, oblong-obovate or spatulate. Fruit brownish, 3 to 6 in. long. 



Numerous varieties 2 of this species have arisen in cultivation in Europe, which 

 are supposed to be of hybrid origin. 



1. Magnolia Soulangiana, Soulange-Bodin, in Ann. Soc. Hort. Paris, 1826, p. 90. 



Magnolia conspicua, var. Soulangiana, Lindley, in Bot. Reg. t. 1164 (1828) ; Loudon, Arb. et Frut. 

 Brit. i. 278 (1838). 



Leaves similar to those of M. conspicua ; but usually narrower in proportion to 

 their length, longer acuminate at the apex, and tapering at the base. Flowers, later 

 in opening, fragrant, delicate green at first, the sepals and petals becoming white 

 inside, and purplish outside. 



This was raised about 1820 at Fromont, near Paris, from the seeds of a plant 

 of M. conspicua, which stood near one of M. denudata, in front of the chateau of M. 

 Soulange-Bodin ; the flowers of the former, it was supposed, being fertilised by the 

 pollen of the latter. It resembles M. denudata in 'the later opening and colour of the 

 flowers. 



2. Magnolia Lennei,'.Topf, ex Van Houtte, Flore des Serres, xvi. tt. 1693, 1694 

 (1867). Leaves similar to those of M. conspicua, broadly obovate-oval, but with a 

 longer acuminate apex, and tapering at the base. Flowers, appearing with the 

 leaves, deep crimson outside, very fragrant. 3 This originated in the Salvi Garden 

 at Vicenza in Italy ; and was sent from there in 1850 to Topf, at Erfurt, who named 

 it after Lenne\ director of the Potsdam Garden. Whether it is a seedling of 

 M. conspicua or of M. Soulangiana is unknown. 



1 This name was published without any description, and cannot therefore be used, although the earliest. 

 * Var. purpurascens, Maximowicz, in Mil. Biol. viii. 509 (1872), is a variety with purple flowers, cultivated in Japan. 

 8 According to Gard. Chron. xxvi. 379 (1899), it produced, in 1893 and 1899, pink fruit with orange seed at Straffan, 

 Kildare. It ripened fruit in 191 1 at Enys in Cornwall. 



