THE MAGNOLIAS 



Yulan — is known to have been cultivated for more 

 than thirteen centuries. Its flower is regarded as a 

 symbol of candour, and in paintings, porcelains, and 

 embroideries it has been portrayed by all the best 

 oriental artists. 



The typical white-flowered Yulan (M. denudata, 

 more generally known as M. conspicua) was intro- 

 duced by Sir Joseph Banks from China into England 

 in 1789. It grows wild in moist woods in the central 

 parts of China, though this fact has only recently 

 been made known. This form, however, is rare in a 

 wild state, and that most usually found has rosy or 

 reddish-pink flowers and is very like the M. Soulan- 

 geana of gardens. This coloured variety has like- 

 wise been long cultivated in China and Japan; in 

 the latter country it is known as "Sarasa-renge" and 

 in Japanese nursery catalogues as M. obovata var. 

 discolor; correctly it should be M. denudata var. 

 purpurascens. In 1900 I introduced this variety by 

 means of seeds collected from wild trees in central 

 China, and the plants are now flowering in England. 

 However, I strongly suspect that it has been growing 

 in western gardens for a much longer period under 

 some other name and its identity obscured. 



Both the white and coloured varieties of the 

 Yulan are handsome trees fifty feet tall with a trunk 

 8 feet in girth and ascending-spreading branches. 



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