Magnolia baillonii Pierre

Magnolia species are shrubs or trees. Leaves simple, alternate, entire, buds enclosed in large convolute stipules which are connate in pairs, where stipules are free or adnate from petiole. Flowers bisexual, terminal, solitary, Sepals 3-5, Petals 6-21 in 3 series. Stamens numerous, filaments flat with no or little interval between them and carpels, Gynoecium sessile, Carpels many persistant 2 ovuled with stigmas running along their ventral side, rarely more, fruiting carpels few, crowded dehiscing along dorsal or ventral suture, sometimes woody and circumcissile. Fruit with an elongated axis, seeds pendulous with a long cottony cord, 1 or more in each carpel.

Magnolia species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: May-November.

Seeds dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal or dehiscence.

Trees about 60-90 ft tall. Bark dark brown, corky and deeply fissured, vertically. Young parts tomentose with rusty brown hairs, glabrous when mature, stipular scars are prominent on the branchlets. Leaves simple, alternate, lanceolate-elliptic, elliptic-oblong or narrow ovate, 15-22 × 5-7 cm across, base obtuse or rounded, margin entire, apex acute or shallow acuminate or with mucronate tip, subcoriaceous, membranous, glabrous above, paler minutely pubescent on the midrib beneath, lateral veins 10-16 on either side of the midrib, almost parallel, impressed above, prominent on midrib beneath, reticulate veinlets, petiole pubescent, about 1.5-3 cm long, stipular scars usually half or one third of the petiole. Flowers bisexual, solitary, appearing with the leaves, white or cream colored, fragrant, about 5-7 cm across, buds ellipsoid, about 2-2.5 x 0.5-0.7 cm across, petiole about 1.5-3 cm long, Perianth parts about 15-21, obovate-oblong, apex truncate, 7 x 4 cm across, petals almost the same size. Stamens numerous, about 7-8 mm long, connective produced above, apiculate, Gynoecium obovoid or ellipsoid, about 5 mm. Carpels about 30, elliptic-ovoid, compressed, densely tomentose with grayish hairs, midribs persistant on fruiting axis after dehiscence, stalk about 5 mm long, Fruiting carpel subcylindric about 8-10 cm long, seeds compressed, obovoid, bright red.

Susceptible to insect pests.

Evergreen forests altitude of about 1,500-4,000 ft.

Wood is good timber, used for making furniture and house construction. Bark used as medicine in Thailand. Antitumor germacranolide alkaloid is isolated from the bark.