It belongs to the Magnoliaceae Family, with the Latin name ofManglietiastrum sinicum.
The evergreen mega-arbor can attain the height up to 40 meters with the chest diameter of 1.2 meters. It has a gray bark. The annual shoot is green. The large keratinous leaves are elliptic or obovoid, and usually 15 to 26 centimeters long, or even 30 centimeters. The aromatic flower bears 9 to 11 fleshy tepals, 3 elliptic felly, which is deep red outside and white inside, and 2 white inside rings. The obovoid or oval fruits, bearing sparse lenticels, are usually 5 to 8.5 centimeters in length, with a diameter of 3.5 to 6.5 centimeters. It contains 1 to 3 seeds inside, wrapped in red outer coat.
 |
|
It's native to broad-leaved evergreen forests in South Asia tropic monsoon area, in ravines facing the sunlight on the upper part of the hillside 1,300-1,550 meters above sea level. The mountain yellow earth or yellow brown earth there is developed from sandstone and sand shale which have a pH value of 4.8 to 5.7 and contain 20% or more organic matter. Chinese Manglietiastrum haswide crowns above the level of the forest canopy, with developed root system. It blossoms once every 1 to 2 years with a florescence in the last ten days of April. It doesn't bear many flowering branches and the fruit-bearing rate is low. It bears fruits from September to November.
Chinese Manglietiastrum is an endemic species of China, with a fairly small distribution area -- only found in southeast of Yunnan Province where there are only 7 individuals. It's of academic value for the study on the classification system and the palaeo-flora of the Magnolia Family. It has a straight trunk and is rot-proof and bug-proof, with silk-like luster. Therefore, it's a precious timber tree in south of Yunan Province. Bearing fresh and aromatic flowers, it can be used for ornamental purposes.
Email to Friends
Print
Save