Magnolia delavayi 

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Basal Angiosperms > Magnoliids > Magnoliales > Magnoliaceae > Magnolia 

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:                Chinese Evergreen Magnolia

• Also, Delavay's magnolia

Conservation status:  unknown

Etymology:   

• Was named after Father Delavay, French Catholic missionary in China, who collected it

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are fragrant, cup-shaped, 15–25 cm broad

• Nine thick, creamy white to pink tepals

• With stamens ca. 210 and ovoid gynoecium with ca. 100 carpels

• In its native habitat, flowering occurs from April to June

Fruit:                         

• x

Leaves:         

• Ovate to ovate-oblong, 10–20 cm (rarely to 32 cm) long and 5–10 cm (rarely to 20 cm) broad

• Tough & leathery

• 5–7 cm petiole

Stem & branches: 

• Gray to grayish-black bark

Roots:         

• x

Habit:        

• A small evergreen tree 8–15 m in height 

Habitat:   

• It grows on wet slopes on limestone areas 

Distribution:                  

• Native to southern China, occurring in Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan at 1,500-2,800 m of elevation

Additional notes:     

• Cultivation

  • Magnolia delavayi is grown as an ornamental tree for its evergreen foliage as well as flowers

  • It is uncommon though increasing in cultivation elsewhere, such as in California

  • A recently selected red-flowered form is becoming popular in cultivation.

• Culture

  • Magnolia delavayi is the city tree of Chongqing

Sources of information:

• (2023)