Magnolia sprengeri

Sprenger's magnolia
File:Magnolia sprengeri 01 by Line1.JPG
Autumn foliage
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Magnoliids
Order:	Magnoliales
Family:	Magnoliaceae
Genus:	Magnolia
Subgenus:	M. subg. Yulania
Section:	M. sect. Yulania subsect. Yulania
Species:	M. sprengeri
Binomial name
Magnolia sprengeri Pampanini, Nuovo Giorn

Sprenger's magnolia, (Magnolia sprengeri), 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

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.

Cultivation

It is grown as an ornamental tree for its flowers. Several cultivars have been named, including 'Copeland Court', 'Diva', 'Eric Savill', 'Lanhydrock', and 'Wakehurst'. The species and its cultivars are hardy to roughly USDA hardiness zone 6. A number of hybrids with other Magnolias have also been developed.

• Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva' Bud 1.JPG

  'Diva' Bud

• Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva' Flower.JPG

  'Diva' Flower

• Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva' Bark Vertical.JPG

  Trunk bark with woodpecker holes