The propagation of M. amoena Cheng: A rare Chinese endemic by Rob Nicholaon of a large number of species. It is a complex mix of plants with no In the autumn of 1982 the species or group of species taxonomists the Arnold of dominating the forest composition Arboretum were excited to see, in and it shows a high number of the Index Seminum the Hangzhou of endemics and monotypic plants. Botanic Garden, a listing of the rare T. P. Chang enumerated the vascular and untested magnolia species, flora of the Tienmu Mountains in Magnolia amoena. We eagerly 1936 and counted a mind-boggling requested seed and late February by 424 woody species. arrived and of the following year it Of the 180 that are trees, 67 wss immediately cold stratified. species form the canopy layer. Subsequent sowing three months Magnolia amoena is found in this later produced 12 seedlings which, to uppermost strata of the forest at an of due the dismay all, died to altitude of 700 to 1000 meters. This damping off. zone is dominated by broad-leaved Attempts to secure more seed from deciduous species, although a number Hangzhou were unsuccessful, and in of conifers do appear. A list of the back of mind have always my I Magnolia amoena's companion wished to atone for this disaster, species might give us some even to go to China and collect seed indication of the plant's unknown myself. A proposal was put forth to hardiness although this be a the Chinese Academy of Sciences may fool's best. Some of the but was denied because the area in game at such as Acer palmatum and which the plant is native "is not plants, Kalopanaz are rated to Zone open for visitors, even for Chinese. " pictus, while others such Lithocarpas It wasn't until 1985 that we 5 as received a second chance, when the henryi are rated to Zone 8. The Shanghai Botanic Garden included other magnolias in this forest zone the species in its Index Seminum. probably ofi'er the best clue; The seed had been wild-collected in Magnolia cylindrica, Magnolia western Zhejiang Province from heptapeta and Magnolia o5cinalis. Chang-Hua Prefecture. This was the Based on these three it is not area from which the species was unreasonable to guess that M. originally collected and described by amoena will survive in Zone 7 and the Chinese botanist, W. C. Cheng, possibly even Zone 6. in 1933. He found the tree in the W. C. Cheng first described the Tienmu Mountains, a range that is plant as a tree 8-12 meters high about 50 miles from the coast and with leaves 10-15 cm. long and 3.5-5 reaches as high as 1545 meters. cm. wide. Flowers are precocious, Zhejiang is a small province, about fragrant, cup-shaped, 6 cm. in the size of Kentucky. However, in diameter with 9 oblanceolate or this limited area grow as many as subspatulate tepals. The petals are 650 different taxa of woody plants. pink or pale pink with filaments In the fine book, The Forests of purplish-red. China, Chi-wu Wang describes the As for its placement within the flora of the Tienmu Mountains as a genus, Cheng felt the new species mixed mesophytic forest, composed was most similar to M. stelfata of 17 Japan and M. zenii of Jiangsu In their first season of growth, the Province of China. seedlings grew to 9 cm. Should they Our second supply of Magnolia continue to grow successfully, we amoena seed was received from hope to eventually increase the Shanghai Botanic Garden in early species by cuttings and within a few March of 1966 along with wild- years hope to ofFer these for sale to collected seed of M. cylindrica, M. our fellow collectors. diva (I assume M. sprengeri), M. Rob Niche(son, author of this ojjicinalis, Michelia crassipes, article and of "Joseph Hers and M. Michelia martina, and cultivated biondii" on page 15, is on assistant seed of M. heptopeta. propagator at Arnold Arboretum, The 10 seed of Magnolia amoena Jamaica Plain, MA. , 02130, and a were given the notorious float test previous contributor to this journaL and each of the 10 seed bobbed like balsa. I call it notorious as the float REFERENCES test usually produces a sinking Chang, T. P. , 1936. Forest(lors of feeling among magnolia growers. Tienmu-Shan Chekiang. Agriculture Despite the dire prediction, I (Nung Hsueh) 2: (1) p. 77-84. (In stratified the seed and after 75 days Chinese. ) it was removed from the refrigerator Cheng, W. C., 1934. Notes on Ligneous Plants of China. Contributions from and sown in mid-May. Within a The Biological Laboratory of The week swelling had occurred and by Science Society of China. VOL IX— 53 June 12 a radicle had plunged p. 279-281. downward. Cotyledons were up and Wang, Chi-Wu, 1961. The Forests of spread by June 20 with 6 of the 10 China. Maria Moors Cabot Foundation seed ultimately germinating. Publication —Series No. 5.

Woody species of Tienmu Mountains —700-1000 meters

Acanthopanax evodiafoiius. Acer Meliosma oldhamii, Nyssa sinensis, scutum, A. palmatum, A. Pteroceltis hupehensis, Pterocarya sinopurpurascens, Alangium chinensis, A. paliurus, Pteroceltis tartarnowii, platanifolium, Albizzia kalkora, Carpinus Pterostyrax corymbosus, Pnmus cordata var. chinensis, Carpinus laxiAora buergeriana, P. brachypoda var. var. macrostschys, Cercis chinensis; pseudossiori, P. serrulata var. spontanea, Comus controversa, C. kousa, P. spinuiosa; DsphniphyBum macropodum, Rhus semislata, Sassafras tzumu, Emmenopterys henryi, Euscaphis Sorbus alnifolia, Stewsrtia sinensis, japonica, Fagus longipetiolata, Tspiscia sinensis, Tilia japonica, T. Fortunearia sinensis, Idesia polycarpa psvcicoststa, T. tusn var. chinense, var. vestits, Ilex lstifolia, Illicium henryi; Ze)kova scbneideriana; Jughms cathayensis, Kalopsnax pictus, Cephslotaxus fortunei, Cryptomeria Lindera glauca, Liriodendron chinense, japonim, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Lithocarpus henryi, Litsea auriculats, Cupressus funebris, Juniperus fonnosa, Maackia chinensis, Magnolia cylindrica, Nothotaxus chienii, Pinus tabulaeformis, M. denudate, M. oilicinalis; Taxus chinensis, Torreya grandis. )8