''Magnolia kobus'', known as mokryeon, kobus magnolia, or kobushi magnolia, is a species of

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

native to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

, and

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

) and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and occasionally cultivated in temperate areas. It is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, small to tall tree which has a slow rate of growth but can reach 8–15 m (25–50 ft) in height and up to 10 m (35 ft) in spread.

Classification

Two varieties of ''Magnolia kobus'' are recognized by some sources, such as ''Hortus Third'', with var. ''borealis'' being a tree to 25 m (75 ft) high, with leaves to 15 cm (6 in) long, and var. ''kobus'', a tree to 10 m (30 ft) high, with leaves to 10 cm (4 in) long. ''Magnolia kobus'' is classified within ''Magnolia''

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Yulania''. The kobus magnolia is closely related to the star magnolia (''Magnolia stellata''), and some authorities consider the star magnolia to be a variety of ''M. kobus, M. kobus'' var. ''stellata''.

Description

''Magnolia kobus'' blooms in the early spring, bearing pleasantly fragrant white flowers with hints of pale pink about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. The flowers are produced before the leaves, as with most members of ''Magnolia'' subgenus ''Yulania''. Young trees do not flower. The summer

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

of the kobus magnolia is dark green. Leaves have an

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

shape with a pointed tip, a smooth, or

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

, leaf underside, and smooth, even edges. Leaves are 8–15 cm (3–6 in) long, in an alternating arrangement. In autumn, the leaves take on a yellow color and drop from the tree. The fruit of the kobus magnolia grows in groups of small red seeds. The groupings are one to three inches in size, and the seeds attract birds. Older bark, such as that of the trunk, is grey-brown, while new stems are green with small brown spots. There is a strong odor to broken branches or twigs. Several news outlets reported that in November 1982, seeds estimated to be 2,000 years old was found by a Hiroshi Utsunomiya of Yamaguchi University in a pit in the ancient Bronze Age village of Asada. He planted a number of seeds, assuming that they would not grow. However, this assumption was proven incorrect. Interestingly, the flowers of the grown plant had 7 or 8 petals on its blossoms rather than the six petals typical of a kobus magnolia.

Gallery

Jacksal Magnolia.jpg,

Jaekseol tea ''Jaekseol-cha'' () is a traditional black tea produced in Hadong County, South Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. Gallery File:Jaekseol-cha.jpg, ''Jaekseol-cha'' tea leaves File:Jacksal Magnolia.jpg, ''Jaekseol'' tea blended with magnolia ...

blended with magnolia petals Magnolia kobus ripen seeds.jpg, seeds 3611-Magnolia_kobus-Arb.Brno-9.12.JPG, Autumn buds Kobushimodoki_Flower.JPG, flowers Magnolia_kobus_6zz.jpg, leaves

References

External links

U.conn.edu: ''Magnolia kobus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q942409 Flora of Japan Flora of Korea Garden plants of Asia kobus Ornamental trees Trees of Japan