What are the common ornamental tree species of Michelia?

What are the common ornamental tree species of Michelia?

Michelia is a large genus of Magnoliaceae. There are about 70 species in all genera, which are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia. A few species are distributed in temperate regions of Asia, of which about 40 species are distributed in China, mainly in southwestern to eastern China.

Michelia is an evergreen shrub or tree. The leaves are simple, alternate, with stipules when young, but stipules usually fall off early, leaving annular stipulation, and circles of marks can be seen near each petiole on the branches. The flowers of Michelia are relatively large, with 6 to many tepals, usually no significant difference between calyx and petals, and a large number of stamens and pistils. The fruit is aggregate fruit, which will dehisce after ripening. At first glance, Michelia may be confused with Magnolia and Magnolia of the same family, but it is easy to distinguish by the location of the flowers: the peanuts of Magnolia and Magnolia have leaves at the top of the long branches and the branches below the flowers have leaves; the peanuts of Michelia are on the axillary specialized short branches, and there are no other long leaves on the branchlets. In addition, in some plant classification systems, Michelia and Magnolia are merged into Magnolia, which is not used in this paper.

As a member of Magnoliaceae, many species of Michelia have large and fragrant flowers, and some have beautiful tree shape, so they are excellent ornamental tree species. In this paper, the following ten ornamental tree species of Michelia are introduced, which can be used as a reference for readers who are interested and need to know.

1. Shaohua (Michelia figo)

Michelia can also be abbreviated to Michelia. The Chinese name of this shrub does not have any prefix and is the "genus length" of Michelia, although most species of Michelia are actually trees. People who hear this name for the first time may think of words such as "smiling Jiuquan" or "half a step crazy with a smile". Of course, Shao Hua has nothing to do with these, its name comes from its flower. When the flower blossoms, it often does not open the perianth piece completely, but only blooms to a certain extent and begins to give off fragrance, because it is called "smile".

The florescence of Michelia is in the early spring, and the warm areas will be advanced to the end of winter. The flower has 6 tepals, white or with some purple stripes, with a mixed aroma similar to that of bananas and apples, which is very strong and intoxicating at first, and the fragrance weakens with the blooming time. Michelia is often cultivated as a flowering shrub and is sometimes trimmed into various shapes, but it should not be overpruned or it will affect flowering. Michelia is sometimes confused with golden banyan, small leaf banyan and other garden shrubs that are also pruned. Their leaves are similar and have circular stipule scars, but the young branches of Michelia flower have dark hairs and the plants do not contain milk, which can be distinguished.

Isolated planting of Michelia mollissima for park greening

two。 Magnolia (Michelia × alba)

Magnolia is also known as Burmese sweet-scented osmanthus, and it is also called "Magnolia" or "Magnolia" in some places, but it should be noted that it is different from those magnolia with large flowers. The flowers of Magnolia are small and delicate, with 10 white and narrow tepals, with a strong and fresh aroma. Because the leaves are much bigger than the flowers, the white orchid hides among the huge leaves and often only smells its fragrance but does not see its flowers.

Magnolia is used as a street tree

Magnolia is probably the most widely cultivated species in the genus Michelia. In the north, it can only be placed indoors as a potted plant, but in warm areas of South China, Magnolia can grow into a 20-meter-high tree that can be planted as a street tree and bloom throughout the summer. Sometimes it can be seen that some people pick the flowers of Magnolia, tie them up and sell them in the market. If you soak a few flowers in a small teacup at home, you can make a room fragrant for a day. Magnolia reproduces mainly by striping or grafting because it can hardly bear fruit and has no seeds. After research, it is found that it is actually the offspring of the hybrid between Michelia champaca and Michelia montana, which is the reason why a "×" symbol is added to its Latin name to represent hybrids.

The aggregate fruit of yellow orchid

Huanglan is used for greening on the grass of the campus.

3. Huanglan (Michelia champaca)

Yellow orchid is a kind of tree species that is very similar to Magnolia, and indeed they are related. As we mentioned earlier, yellow orchid is actually one of the parents of Magnolia. The tree shape and leaf shape of yellow orchid are almost the same as that of magnolia, and it is difficult to distinguish them when there is no flower or fruit; if you look carefully, you can find that the back of the leaf is pilose and the petiole is also some, while the back and petiole of magnolia are hairless. This is the only way to distinguish the yellow orchid. However, when it comes to the flowering season in early summer, the golden flowers of Huanglan can be easily identified, and their fragrance is not inferior to that of Magnolia at all. After blooming, yellow orchid can usually bear fruit, and the fruit is aggregate fruit, which is hung in a string on the tree.

The garden application value of Huanglan is roughly the same as that of Magnolia. Relatively speaking, China and Southeast Asia prefer Magnolia, while Indians prefer Huanglan. The famous Indian writer Tagore's work "Golden Flower" (The Champa Flower) describes yellow orchids. It should be noted that there is a herb in Orchidaceae called Cephalantheropsis obcordata, which has nothing to do with Huanglan we are talking about here.

Michelia mollissima is used for greening next to the house.

4. Deep Mountain Michelia (Michelia maudiae)

From the name, the deep mountain smile sounds like a reclusive master, while the name "Mrs. Mo Xiaoxihua" adds a bit of nobility to it. It is true that Michelia mollissima is a native tree species in South China, and it may be possible to encounter it when walking in the mountain forest. In terms of luxury, among Michelia species, it is evaluated in terms of the size of flowers, the whiteness of petals, the number of flowers, and so on. The ornamental quality of Michelia mollissima is among the best. Its florescence is from February to March, the length of a single flower can be up to 8 cm, the tepals are as white as jade, each piece can be up to 4 cm wide, while other tepals with a smile are often no more than 2 cm wide, and the whole flower may not be as big as 1/3 of the smile in the mountains. And such a big flower deep mountain smile can explode the whole plant, such as a tree carved jade when viewed from afar.

The leaves of Michelia mollissima are also very recognizable. Its leaves are dark green or grayish green, and the leaves are covered with white powder, which can be easily identified even if there are no flowers.

5. Drunken Fragrance (Michelia macclurei)

Michelia mandshurica and Michelia mollissima are the same species of Michelia which are easy to meet in the mountains. It is not without reason to be called "drunken incense". The florescence of drunken incense is from February to April every year. Its floral fragrance is rich and mellow. As long as you take a petal and put it next to your nose, you can feel the floral fragrance coming.

Michelia mollissima is used as a street tree

The leaves of Michelia mollissima are also easy to identify, with short gray hairs on the back of the leaves, while the midrib of the back is covered with pale pilose like petioles and buds. In addition to being cultivated as a garden tree species, Michelia can also be used as a timber tree species, its wood is beautiful, durable and easy to process, so it will also be seen in woodland. In the genus Michelia, there is a kind of Michelia foveolata that is somewhat similar to Michelia mollissima, except that the back of the leaf is densely covered with reddish-brown fluff, but there is not much planting at present, so this article will not be introduced in detail.

6. Lechang Michelia (Michelia chapensis)

Lechang Michelia is named after the city of Lechang in Guangdong Province, where it was first found, but in fact it is distributed in many mountainous areas of South China. It is also a kind of tree, up to 30 meters high. Because of the straight trunk and conical tower-shaped crown, Lechang has already walked out of the mountain area of its origin and into large and small cities. From East China to South China, single planting, row planting or group planting of Michelia mollissima has better ornamental effect.

Lechang is used as a street tree.

The florescence of Michelia mollissima is from March to April, and the tepals are 6, light yellow, and the shape is similar to that of Michelia mollissima. Michelia mollissima without flowers can be recognized by the shape of the leaves, its leaves are oval, and the apex often has a protruding short tip, and then according to the characteristics of the branches of Michelia with annular stippling marks, they can still be recognized by careful observation.

7. Shi Lu Michelia (Michelia shiluensis)

Isolated planting of Michelia mollissima in Shilu for park greening

Shilu Michelia originated in Hainan Island, China. Shilu is a place name in Changjiang County, Hainan Province. In the rough tropical rainforest of Hainan Island, Shilu Michelia has grown into a large evergreen tree, which can also grow to 20 meters tall, with dark green leaves, oval leaves and hard texture. Compared with the uncharacteristic leaves, Shilu's smiling flowers are more interesting. Its flowers open only a little, and nine curved perianth segments are surrounded to form a small ball, and then let the pistil protrude from the middle of the ball. On the whole, Michelia mandshurica still has a certain garden application value, especially in the flowering period from April to May. In addition to Hainan, it is also cultivated in some places in Guangdong, which needs to be further developed.

8. Michelia micrantha (Michelia crassipes)

The Michelia introduced above are all white or yellowish flowers, and many Michelia plants have such light-colored flowers. The purple flower smile here appears to be a maverick, its flower size is about the same as Michelia flowers, tepals 6 pieces, the color is fuchsia to dark purple. Although the color is very different, but the aroma is not less, there will still be some fragrance, which smells like wine or apple. The sense of smell and the visual impact of purple brought by the fragrance of flowers make Michelia a rare ornamental plant.

The flowering period of Michelia mollissima is from 3 to 6 months, and the plant shape is a small tree or shrub. In the garden can be trimmed into a certain shape, isolated planting or cluster planting have a better effect, and compared with Michelia flowers are more hardy.

The smiling flower is purple with strong fragrance.

The leaves of Michelia mollissima

9. Tourist wood (Michelia odora)

Tourist wood is named in memory of the contribution made by Mr. Zhong Xuan, a famous botanist in China, to the research of Magnoliaceae. In 1963, Tsoongiodendron was published by another botanist in China, Mr. Chen Huanyong. At that time, it was established as a separate genus-- sightseeing wood (Tsoongiodendron). Please note that the name "sightseeing wood" here is even Mr. Zhong's "Zhong". However, in later studies, tourist wood was considered to be a member of Michelia, which no longer exists in the latest English edition of Chinese Flora.

The perianth of tourist wood is 9 pieces, light red.

The leaves of tourist wood

The flowering period of sightseeing wood is from February to March, and the flower has 9 tepals and light red. The tepals are divided into three wheels, with the outermost spreading, while the inner one is nearly upright, and the flowers are arranged on the branches like red teacups with a base. The flowers of the tourist wood are extremely fragrant, smell like sweet wine, and the tree shape is beautiful, so it is very suitable for cultivation in scenic spots or courtyards, and most of them can be planted in the south of the Yangtze River basin.

10. Guangdong Michelia (Michelia guangdongensis)

If you open the Chinese version of Flora of China, you will not find Michelia mandshurica. However, please rest assured that it is not made up by us, and the reason why we cannot find it is that it had not been discovered when the flora was written. Guangdong Michelia was not officially published until 2004, and the earliest discovery was in Yingde City, Guangdong Province.

The abaxial surface of Michelia mandshurica leaves is densely covered with dark red villi.

Michelia mandshurica is a kind of shrub. The most special thing about it is its leaves. Its leaves are green on the front and dark red on the back because the leaves are densely covered with dark red tomentose. The contrast caused by different colors on both sides of the leaves can bring a very strong visual effect, if it is cultivated in a high place or on a slope, visitors can look up from the bottom, the effect will be more obvious. This may be comparable to plants such as red-backed cinnamon, which have been widely cultivated, but the viewing point of Michelia mandshurica is not just on the color of the leaves. It blooms in May, and the fragrance of the flowers is naturally there, which is not comparable to that of red-backed cinnamon.

So much for the introduction of the common ornamental species of Michelia. In fact, there are far more ornamental species of Michelia, such as Michelia mollissima, Michelia yunnanensis, Michelia balansae, Michelia skinneriana and so on, which are all very beautiful trees and need more attention. Hope to take advantage of this article, so that more Michelia plants can be reasonably developed and applied.