A Day in the Field

If you can't join 'em, read 'em A Day in the Field by Philip J. Savage, Jr. Many years ago I accepted the fact Chung collected this species near Taegi that I would never hunt Magnolias in San, on Kanwan island. China. My "field" in the title is One of my sons, while serving in the therefore not the Ta Pa Shan, of U. S. Army in Korea, brought back boyhood fantasy, but the very color photographs of Magnolias attainable Field Museum, in Chicago blooming in residential yards and in (now called the Chicago Museum of parks. These appear to me to be M. Natural History). Through the years I denudate, and one of the Japanese have spent adventurous afternoons in hybrids of the Soulangiana grex with the fine herbarium of this institution, clear purple flowers. Our enthusiastic and although the specialty of the house fellow member and friend, C. Ferris leans toward neotropical plants, the Miller, had not yet started the Chollipo Magnoliaceae of both the Old and New Arboretum in Korea at that time, or Worlds seem well represented. son Pete would have used all his film A quick eye catcher is an interesting on it, I'm sure. series, "Plants of Southern Korea. " Through the years, botanical and collected from the University of zoological expeditions have received Michigan Botanical Garden by Mrs. far less publicity than they deserve. R. K. Smith with Professor T. H. Chung Only when their objective was the and others. It makes me proud of my capture or collection of a particular alma mater. Most of the collecting was done on the volcanic island of Cheju- Do, formerly called Quelpart, off the southern tip of Korea. Specimen No. I8l, collected August 30, l947, near the village of In-Cho was determined to be Magnolia kobus var. kobus by J. E. Dandy in I962. Leaves, buds, and twigs are very typical o( M. kobus as we know it. Specimen No. 180 was determined by Dandy to be M, sieboldii, again very typical of the plants cultivated in the U. S, and Canada. Mrs. R. K. Smith also collected specimens of M. sieboldii in Michelia " alba (photo Gerry Whanghai province, and Professor Hetzerl. mammal, plant, or bird that happened and they will both exist there until this to catch the interest of the general badly battered biome is beyond repair. public has there been any real In recent years a ray of hope has enthusiasm shown by large numbers of come out of China. hinting that at long people and picked up by the media. last plans are afoot to maintain a small The Kelly-Roosevelt-Field Museum ~ample of this biome in its onginal Expedition that started out from state. Once again it's that cute clown, Chicago in l929 had just such a target. the giant panda, on which we must This expedition aimed to collect lean. Public interest is vital in China, specimens of the giant panda, dead or just as in the United States, for such alive, in the mountains of western land use. China. The return trip was to follou In 1964 several giant pandas were the ranges from Yunnan southeast to found to be living just inside the North Viet Nam. collecting all the way. southern border of Shen-si province. "Trailing the Giant Panda" is the story The following year the Wang l.ang of the Chinese part of the expedition. Nature Reserve was dedicated by the well written by Kermit and Theodore Chinese government for the Roosevelt Jr. Top men m all the natural preservation of this rare and sciences were represented. and their endangered mammal. This large reserve collections poured back to the fine is in extreme northern Srechwan facilities of the Field Museum for all of province, close to the Kan-su and us to study and enloy todav. Shen-si borders, among the southern Another dehghtful book resulting spurs of the Min mountains. It is from the activities of Teddy Roosevelt's traversed by the Pai-ma river and may, hyper-kinetic sons is "The Fire Ox and one would hope. become an accessible Other Years" written in 1940 by national park, preserving the flora as Suydam Cutting. a member of several well as fauna of that beautiful area, expeditions. On these trips many often referred to as Tebbu or Tepu specimens of the Magnoliaceae were Land by Joseph Rock. Fascinating collected by Frank Kingdon-Ward and pandas, magnificent Chinese Monal are not only represented in the Chicago pheasants, white-lipped deer. and huge Museum of Natural History but in "snubnosed" monkeys may lead the herberiums throughout the country. way to save Magnolias. Rhododen- ln case you are beginning to wonder drons. conifers, lilacs. tree paeonies. if I wrote this little article for the " and other flora and fauna. About 200 "American Giant Panda Society. let giant pandas are thought to range the me say that the range of this mountain forests of this badly needed fascinating animal generally coincides reserve. with the ranges of Magnolia Far to the east, in Anhwei province, sargenriana and its var. robusra, M. there is action afoot to preserve the riawsoniana (if this is indeed a distinct remaining forests around Hwang Shan, species), the westernmost limits ol' M. the misty yellow mountain on which sprengeri, as well as M. biondii, kt. Professor Ren-Chang Ching. in l925, iiilsoiiii, M. sieboldii var. sinensis, collected the undescribed Magnolia three or four Michelias, and a couple, later named itl. crlindrira bv Rchdcr ' at least, of 'Manglietias. The types of and Wilson. Ching also collected M. bamboo that are the food of the panda clenurlaia and M. sieholdii for the bring it into the same ecosystem in Arnold Arboretum at that time which the above Magnolias evolved, An interesting series at the Field 20 Museum is titled "Contributions for lesser population would attract the Biological Lab. of the Science naturalists, but such has not been the Society of China, VoL H, No. I: case. I was therefore pleased to come Preliminary Notes on the Vegetation across a large folder "entitled "Plants of and Flora of Hwang-Shan, " by S. S. Kweichow Province, dated September Chien, Nanking, I927. l3, l93 I. These specimens were Among the notations of particular collected in cooperation between the interest to Magnoliaphiles: Arnold Arboretum, the New York ".. Southeast of the Lion Ridge Botanical Garden, and the University from Ping Tien Kan at 4000 ft. down of Nanking. Although Kweichow seems to Yuen Kou Sze at 2700 ft. are many quite rich in laurels and oaks, the trees of Magnolia denudata. " Also: "On Magnoliaceae would appear somewhat the north slope, explored by Ren sparse in distribution. M. officinaiis in Chang Ching in l925 are found the unlobed form, Mangiietia fordiana, Magnolia cyiindrica and Magnolia Mangiietia insignis, Micheiia bodineri, parvtjiora (sieboldii). " Also: and Micheiia martini appear to be "Deciduous forest extends from Sung native. Mirheiia cavaieriei collected in Kou An on the north slope up to Lion the Fan Ching Shan is outstanding. Ridge, the northern margin of this Determined by Dandy in l962, this mountain plateau, at an elevation of specimen lii637) has particularly 5000 ft. On the south slope, a similar beautiful leaves, 8 to IO inches long by natural forest occurs in the upper part only I '/2 inches wide. The fruit of the Chen Shiang Yuan valley. Trees collected with the leaves is about the of the family Theaceae dominate the size of that of Micheiia doitsopa, so forest on the eastern cliffs of Sung Kou perhaps the flowers are as spectacular An. Mixed with them are a few trees of as those of this better known species. Mangiietia fordiana. These are trees of As mentioned previously, plants of large size with whitish gray bark and a the tropics of the New World have girth of three to four feet. " Well been the particular forte of the Chicago prepared specimens determined by Museum of Natural History, and in Handel Mazzetti are at the Field, and these studies two great field botanists also the Harvard Herbarium. Mirheiia have done a magnificent job. Paul C. faiiax is reputed to range in the same Standley and Dr. Julian A. Steyermark area, but I have not found specimens have been tireless plant hunters "south so marked, What a splendid national park could be preserved around Hwang Shan to preserve the flora and fauna of this delightful mountain! A Chinese province little visited by plant hunters is Kweichow, south and east of Szechwan. This high, rocky plateau is not famous as a food producer and has far fess than its share of tillable land. Books on the fauna of China usually note that "Kweichow produces the greatest number of leopard skins of any of the provinces. " Magnolia guatemalensis. completely One would think that these areas of open fio wer. of the border" and have not neglected Another specimen of Michelia the Magnoliaceae. champaca collected june 13, 1945, by There are several folders at the Field Juvenal Valerio Rodriguez in the same of Magnolia guaiernalensis from the area at 800 meters is 113084. country of its name. showing surprising A much later collection by Paul C. variation in shape and size ol leaves. A Standley preserves a flowcnng twig good photo of a mature tree, plus a with thc notation "Flowers cream, close-up of a flower, accompany one fragrant, cultivated on campus of La specimen. The caption reads' "Tree 25- E. A. P. , El Za mora no, Department 50 feet. Leaves coriacious or firmly Morazan, June 19, 1964. chartaceous. Flower creamy-white with Another of Standley's cultivated odor of apple blossoms.

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